The Impact of Media: Teaching Teens to Think for Themselves

How Media May Help Kids Learn
How is this hyper-stimulating environment affecting a teen’s cognitive development? “We know for sure that there are impacts on attention, memory, comprehension, and communication skills development,” said Renee Hobbs, Professor at Temple University and Founder of the Media Education Lab. “The nature versus nurture debate is alive and well in ADHD studies. There was one really good study that showed for every additional hour of TV that the child watched at two, there was a dramatic increased likelihood of having ADHD symptoms at seven. And we don’t think that stops at age seven. That research provides a really good justification for those parents who want to limit the amount of time that children spend with screen media.”

Although many parents, and even some teens, see evidence that multi-tasking takes a toll on productivity and performance, there are some children who thrive and succeed in this fast-paced environment. “The current thinking is that this is an individual differences phenomenon,” said Hobbs. “It looks like multi-tasking might be interacting with cognitive style, or learning differences, or other individual differences in the child.”

The peer pressure on teens to stay on the media treadmill is undeniable. Sheryl S., a Boston mother of two teens, adds, “Every teenager I know is hooked on the multi-tasking and media hype. If you aren’t doing these things, you aren’t cool.” Lisa G., seventeen, admits, “I guess it never really stops. It’s just always interrupting you.” Could she turn it all off? “No, no, I could never do that. Because when you’re so used to just being in constant contact with everyone, it’s hard to be away from it. It’s what I’m used to.”

Teens Create Their Own Media
There are some positive outcomes from this media saturation. A 2007 Pew Internet and American Life study reported that 57 percent of online teens currently create content for the Internet. That includes twelve million teens who are inventors of Web sites; creators of artwork, photos, stories, and videos; authors of blogs and online journals; and artists who remix content found online into their own version of cyber folk art.