Television is taking over the world these devices are everywhere you look! Today television has a huge part in lives of our children. Television can have many positive effects such as, developing literacy through watching shows such as Sesame Street, cultural awareness, diversity, and imaginative play. There are also educational shows for younger children to help teach about letters, shapes, manners, and sharing. However, there are so many negative effects they almost outweigh the positive ones. Screen time for children under fifteen has negative health, psychological, and behavioral effects on children.
The first negative effect on screen time is health. Although shows like the Wiggles promote children to get up dance and move around with …show more content…
It is not always caused by genetics but also can be caused by watching television. A study of girls aged five and nine found that even in families where neither parent was over- weight, television was the only significant predictor of girls' increase in Body Mass Index (Sigman 16). Lack of sleep is another health issue caused by screen time. Letting young children such as toddlers sit and watch television can cause irregular sleep patterns, because the more they watch TV the harder it is to keep them on a schedule. The number of hours of television watched per day was independently associated with both irregular naptime schedule and irregular bedtime schedules (Sigman 15). Lack of sleep can also cause altered levels of Melatonin. Stanford University Medical Center has found evidence that a lack of sleep can significantly alter levels of the hormone melatonin, an extremely powerful antioxidant (Sigman …show more content…
Children that sit and watch shows such as SpongeBob can cause many psychological issues. When young children sit and watch television they are only using two parts of their brain, as opposed to actively interacting with someone using all five parts of their brain which can cause hyperactivity. They found that early television exposure was associated with attention problems at age seven which was consistent with a diagnosis of ADHD (Sigman 13). A child that is hyperactive can have declined motor skills such as writing, reading, and speaking. Another factor of hyperactivity can be decreased school performance. For example, the child would not be able to sit still in class or they would make impulsive decisions causing a disruption. Inattention is the second psychological issue. Inattention causes a decreased attention span. The television shows that children watch are always changing or moving at a fast pace making it hard for the child to focus with less stimuli. In contrast to the pace with which real life unfolds and is experienced by young children, television can portray rapidly changing images, scenery, and events. It can be over stimulating yet extremely interesting. This has led some to theorize that television may shorten children’s attention spans (Christakis 1). Another factor it can cause is a decrease in concentration. For example, they might have difficulty ignoring
The first negative effect on screen time is health. Although shows like the Wiggles promote children to get up dance and move around with …show more content…
It is not always caused by genetics but also can be caused by watching television. A study of girls aged five and nine found that even in families where neither parent was over- weight, television was the only significant predictor of girls' increase in Body Mass Index (Sigman 16). Lack of sleep is another health issue caused by screen time. Letting young children such as toddlers sit and watch television can cause irregular sleep patterns, because the more they watch TV the harder it is to keep them on a schedule. The number of hours of television watched per day was independently associated with both irregular naptime schedule and irregular bedtime schedules (Sigman 15). Lack of sleep can also cause altered levels of Melatonin. Stanford University Medical Center has found evidence that a lack of sleep can significantly alter levels of the hormone melatonin, an extremely powerful antioxidant (Sigman …show more content…
Children that sit and watch shows such as SpongeBob can cause many psychological issues. When young children sit and watch television they are only using two parts of their brain, as opposed to actively interacting with someone using all five parts of their brain which can cause hyperactivity. They found that early television exposure was associated with attention problems at age seven which was consistent with a diagnosis of ADHD (Sigman 13). A child that is hyperactive can have declined motor skills such as writing, reading, and speaking. Another factor of hyperactivity can be decreased school performance. For example, the child would not be able to sit still in class or they would make impulsive decisions causing a disruption. Inattention is the second psychological issue. Inattention causes a decreased attention span. The television shows that children watch are always changing or moving at a fast pace making it hard for the child to focus with less stimuli. In contrast to the pace with which real life unfolds and is experienced by young children, television can portray rapidly changing images, scenery, and events. It can be over stimulating yet extremely interesting. This has led some to theorize that television may shorten children’s attention spans (Christakis 1). Another factor it can cause is a decrease in concentration. For example, they might have difficulty ignoring