They claim that, because of screens, "digital natives" are the first generation "less intelligent" than their parents

Ricardo Braginski

10/30/2020 17:02

• Clarín.com

• Society

Updated 10/30/2020 17:02

A ghost haunts Europe and scares many parents who had already convinced themselves that their children - who spend hours in front of the screens and handle them

- could end up being the Bill Gates or Steve Jobs of the next few years.

The ghost is in the form of a book,

Factory

.

It was written by

and is among the

of the season, although it is not without controversy:

Cover of the book "The digital cretin factory", by the French neuroscientist Michel Desmurget.

Desmurget's book created a rift between those who emphasize the negative impacts of screens and those who, on the contrary, believe that the balance of new technologies is tilting more towards the positive side.

With a succession of scientific studies, Desmurget goes out

which he attributes to interests of the technology industry.

And they postulate that children and young people, due to the domain of digital, today have a different brain and new ways of learning.

French neuroscientist Michel Desmurget.

On the contrary, the neuroscientist is alarmed.

And it exhibits studies that show that "digital natives", far from excelling in those skills, are

.

Desmurget admits that the IQ indicator may have certain limitations and that it depends on various social factors, but he appeals to the so-called

: a phenomenon studied by the scientific community that shows how IQ had risen between generations for decades.

So far, it

in various countries such as Norway, Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands and France.

Then enter the question.

Desmurget says that

is seriously affecting, and for worse,

.

And that the main fundamentals of intelligence are affected, such as

.

And that all this impacts, finally, in the

that is reflected in standardized tests such as PISA.

Nicolás Cacchiarelli is a pediatrician and secretary of the Growth and Development Committee of the Argentine Society of Pediatrics (SAP).

Broadly speaking, it

, although it specifies that it is very difficult to attribute the fall in IQ exclusively to the use of screens by new generations.

"There are a lot of other changes that society is experiencing that can also influence and generate negative impacts," he tells

.

However, he explains that games and most recreational applications were developed specifically to

.

And that

to do other things and learn other skills.

“It was found that there is

.

Boys have less communication skills, they

.

In children under 2 years of age there is an impact on their brain plasticity, on the ability to generate neural networks.

And in those over 3, the automatic movements of the screens limit the possibility of receiving more diverse stimuli ”, says Cacchiarelli.

What about teenagers?

For Cacchiarelli, the immediate satisfaction of stimuli offered by digital devices means that they

in the rest of life situations, that

.

It also alters their sleep, the hours of rest, it can make them more sedentary.

And all of this affects academic performance.

Sofia Lalor, head of Child and Adolescent Neuropsychology at INECO, explains the complexity involved in measuring a boy's intelligence.

And he affirms that exposure to any stimulus that limits a more or less healthy context can hinder the proper development of the functions that make up intelligence.

“The excess of screen times reduces the possibility of children's experiences, attentive to inhibitory control, tolerance, frustration, power of concentration, to maintain an adequate quality of rest and sleep, among other functions.

The exaggerated and prolonged exposure

causes changes in

, ”says Lalor.

And he adds that “to demonstrate a real decrease in IQ it would be important to have

, discriminate which functions are affected, know under what conditions these children were evaluated, and if these differences in the functioning is maintained over time and in other contexts ”.

Roxana Morduchowicz, UNESCO advisor on digital citizenship, has a different vision.

He believes that "there is a

and thinking of the link between devices and people as a cause - effect relationship."

“Neither the screens - in themselves - generate individualism, nor do they make us more sociable.

They neither impair learning nor improve the quality of teaching.

They are not responsible for inequity, nor do they produce equality.

.

What happens with them always depends on the practices, on how they are used ”, he emphasizes.

With regard to adolescents, he states that “the most recent surveys in Argentina say that only one in ten boys between the ages of 13 and 17 uses a screen at a time.

90% combine and even superimpose them.

While watching a video, they communicate on social networks, listen to music, search for information and do their homework.

All at the same time.

This is a youth brand in the 21st century.

But it shouldn't be a cause for concern.

The most recognized international investigations

”.

The pandemic forces a new look

For Nicolás Cacchiarelli, from the Argentine Society of Pediatrics (SAP), all this discussion must be framed in the current context of pandemic and

. 

He says that for many teenagers

were

.

“This is positive.

There are talks, they play in a group, that's great, ”he says.

The same goes for younger children and the possibility that videoconferencing offers to get in touch with grandparents or other family members and friends.

Recommendations for parents

Before offering advice for parents, specialists are quick to clarify that there are different types of screen use:

to which, rather than limiting them, they should be encouraged.

And the

, to which you have to pay attention.

Kids use screens mostly for recreational purposes, says Michel Desmurget.

Both the World Health Organization (WHO), the SAP and other organizations have already published guides on the recommended time for children to spend in front of the screens according to each age.

For the pediatrician Nicolás Cacchiarelli, the most important thing, beyond the number of hours, is that at that time

by an adult.

The SAP recommends that

for

.

Then, up to 5 years at an hour and a half a day maximum.

And from 5 to 12 years, 2 hours a day.

For Roxana Morduchowicz, "from education it is necessary to promote the uses that adolescents make of technologies, create a digital citizenship program that strengthens a safe, critical and participatory use of the Internet."

As for parents, the expert suggests that they be aware of the use that children and adolescents make of screens.

“It is very installed in families to ask your children how you did in Mathematics or in the History test.

But today it is necessary to add a question that few parents ask their children:

That is to say, what did you like, amuse, angry, worried, scared, or scared you.

It is essential to be aware of the uses made of technology, without invading the privacy of children, who also need it.