Instituto de Comunicación Social; Periodismo y Publicidad
Licenciaturas en Comunicación Periodística y en Comunicación Publicitaria e Institucional
Inglés - Nivel 2
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Screen Addiction Is Taking a Toll on Children
By Jane E. Brody - July 6, 2015 – The New York Times
Excessive use of computer games among young people in China appears to be taking an
alarming turn and may have particular relevance for American parents whose children spend
many hours a day focused on electronic screens. The documentary “Web Junkie,” to be shown
next Monday on PBS, highlights the tragic effects on teenagers who become hooked on video
games, playing for dozens of hours at a time often without breaks to eat, sleep or even use the
bathroom. Many come to view the real world as fake. Chinese doctors consider this
phenomenon a clinical disorder and have established rehabilitation centers where afflicted
youngsters are confined for months of sometimes draconian therapy, completely isolated from
all media, the effectiveness of which remains to be demonstrated. While Internet addiction is
not yet considered a clinical diagnosis here, there’s no question that American youths are
plugged in and tuned out of “live” action for many more hours of the day than experts consider
healthy for normal development. And it starts early, often with preverbal toddlers handed their
parents’ cellphones and tablets to entertain themselves when they should be observing the
world around them and interacting with their caregivers. Before age 2, children should not be
exposed to any electronic media, the pediatrics academy maintains, because “a child’s brain
develops rapidly during these first years, and young children learn best by interacting with
people, not screens.” Older children and teenagers should spend no more than one or two
hours a day with entertainment media, preferably with high-quality content, and spend more
free time playing outdoors, reading, doing hobbies and “using their imaginations in free play,”
the academy recommends. Heavy use of electronic media can have significant negative effects
on children’s behavior, health and school performance. Those who watch a lot of simulated
violence, common in many popular video games, can become immune to it, more inclined to
act violently themselves and less likely to behave empathetically, said Dimitri A. Christakis of
the Seattle Children’s Research Institute. Teenagers who spend a lot of time playing violent
video games or watching violent shows on television have been found to be more aggressive
and more likely to fight with their peers and argue with their teachers, according to a study in
the Journal of Youth and Adolescence. Schoolwork can suffer when media time infringes on
reading and studying. And the sedentary nature of most electronic involvement — along with
televised ads for high-calorie fare — can foster the unhealthy weights already epidemic among
the nation’s youth. Technology is a poor substitute for personal interaction. Children who are
heavy users of electronics may become adept at multitasking, but they can lose the ability to
focus on what is most important, a trait critical to the deep thought and problem solving
needed for many jobs and other endeavors later in life. Texting looms as the next national
epidemic. An earlier Pew study found that teenagers send an average of 34 texts a night after
they get into bed, adding to the sleep deprivation so common and harmful to them. And as Ms.
Hatch pointed out, “as children have more of their communication through electronic media,
and less of it face to face, they begin to feel more lonely and depressed.” There can be physical
consequences, too. Children can develop pain in their fingers and wrists, narrowed blood
vessels in their eyes (the long-term consequences of which are unknown), and neck and back
pain from being slumped over their phones, tablets and computers.
1. Summarize the main idea of the text in 20-30 words.
2. Answer the following questions in your own words:
a. Why are Chinese doctors alarmed?
b. How can electronic media affect children’s brains? Is that positive or negative?
c. Account for the sentence: “Technology is a poor substitute for personal interaction.”
3. In a brief paragraph (100 words approx.), express your opinion about this issue.
