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XxhumanguineapigxX t1_j7atcaj wrote

Reply to comment by healthierlurker in A new study suggests that too much screen time during infancy may lead to changes in brain activity, as well as problems with executive functioning — the ability to stay focused and control impulses, behaviors, and emotions — in elementary school. by Wagamaga

I don't have kids so it's irrelevant to me, but 2 hours a day doesn't seem like much at all? Maybe I'm mad.

I remember growing up watching a ~20min episode of a cartoon in the morning eating breakfast, then would continue watching 2-3 episodes of whatever was on cartoon network with my brother when we got home from school while mum cooked dinner and washed lunch boxes etc. I'd already be on ~1.5 hours from that alone.

Sometimes after dinner we'd all watch a movie together like Disney, or a few eps of the discovery channel (whole fam was obsessed with crocodile hunter growing up). I will say it wasn't every day - sometimes we played outside on the trampoline, or played with lego etc. But 2 hours across a whole day I guess doesn't feel like much to me!

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Mr_Abobo t1_j7b5499 wrote

That’s as a child. As an owner of a baby, I can tell you they don’t really watch things like adults or even children do. Two hours of screen time is wild because that means they’re being plunked down and forgotten about, most likely.

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ramonycajal88 t1_j7bajl8 wrote

So are the cognative issues due to the screen time? Or is it a lack of active interaction and bonding?

Parenting is tough, so I can imagine parents hand off their tablets or turn on the TV to get some quiet time. But, sounds like we need to figure out better ways to make that screen time interactive.

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Taoistandroid t1_j7brnt1 wrote

Parents with executive disfunction might be influencing these results both genetically, and behaviorally. ADHD parents can have a hard time staying engaged.

So the study mentions, this doesn't prove a direct cause relationship, they need a better designed experiment for that.

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electricvelvet t1_j7hvwxb wrote

As is almost always the case in scientific studies; it's not a flaw in the study. And this is an incredibly complex confluence of multiple high order systems--parenting, genetics, context, screen exposure to infants--you can't just do one good study/experiment. Too many variables would lead to useless data. Pick ONE and do that, which they did. It's limited info but at least we see correlation from this one (kinda big one).

Edit: and then you get the studies that people deride as useless because they just corroborate something seemingly obvious--ie "study shows parents with ADHD more likely to have children with ADHD." But you combine that with this, another study that says "parents with attention disorders more likely to have children who spend excessive amounts of time on screens" which would call into question whether the original study was merely correlation, or causation. Then have a follow-up study comparing, idk, infants with 2+ hrs of screen time and neurotypical parents to ADHD parents (which then runs the risk of unreliable self-reporting for the parents... and further questions about defining what qualifies as genetic predisposition towards ADHD, and what qualifies as ADHD etc). It gets complicated fast and there will rarely ever be a clear-cut answer, especially when it comes to anything to do with neurology, since we know so little about it currently. But hey that's why we have universities full of research scientists all around the world engaging in scientific dialog and peer review.

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Lucky_Pyro t1_j7bpgga wrote

I wish this were part of the study... unfortunately, my kids watch alot of TV (23 mos and 7mos). But we are there with them singing songs and pointing out characters and interacting. Now, Disney is very fast paced for kids, unfortunately, but we try no screen time for a little bit each day, and dinner at the table with no screens. Neither of our kids use our phones or tablets, and while the TV is playing they are playing with toys and books which we also play with. Parenting is not easy, and there are so many ways to do it. Not a one size fits all.

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ramonycajal88 t1_j7bqs6j wrote

Agreed! I don't think all children shows need to be "educational". But, the bonding and interactive aspect seems significant.

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chicojuarz t1_j7bf6rt wrote

The study seems to say they don’t know because the data isn’t detailed enough to tell the difference.

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notsurewhattosay-- t1_j7bkg69 wrote

I used to own a baby. Two actually. They grew up. Sadly I lost ownership. They adulted.

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chicojuarz t1_j7bf4ff wrote

Screen time had a strong correlation to household income in the study

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