WORLD OF LEARNING: GROWING UP DIGITAL

"Growing Up Digital, Wired for Distraction" New York Times 11/21/10

After a long wait (since August) Matt Richtel is back with his "Your Brain on Computers" series, and as he promised on "Fresh Air," he and his helpers are delving into the effects of the digital revolution for those for whom it is no longer a revolution, but a way of life.

I hope this is just the beginning of that study, because here Richtel mostly documents how important digital devices are to high school kids--at least right here in the Bay Area, at Redwood City's Woodside High. Richtel finds one student who sends 900 text messages a day, another who spends six to seven hours a day playing video games.

A logical conclusion would be that this is having a profound effect on brain structure. While the article does quote researchers, notably Michael Rich of Harvard Medical School, I'm looking for more of what the scientists say--work like that done by Patricia Greenfield and Maryanne Wolf.

I was struck by a couple of things. One is how accepted it is by parents, teachers, Woodside's principal, as well as the kids themselves, that they don't do their homework, that they don't read. All concerned were quite frank about this.

The other is how articulate these kids were, even as they acknowledged the deleterious consequences social networking and video games were having on their lives. More than one wished parents would limit digital time.