Internet Affecting Children's Development
Psychological Science Agenda | December 2003
Science Briefs
Children and Internet Use: Social, Psychological and Academic Consequences for Low-income Children
Does Using the Internet Affect Children's Development?
By Linda A. Jackson, PhD, Alexander vo Eye, PhD, and Frank Biocca, PhD
Does using the Internet affect children's development? Do children become socially isolated or connected when they use the Internet? Do they become depressed or elated? Does school performance suffer or improve? A wealth of opinion, anecdotal evidence and media hype has attempted to answer these questions. At one extreme are the Internet enthusiasts who view Internet use as the panacea for all that plagues society, including inadequacies in the educational system. …show more content…
On the one hand, time spent online is time not spent elsewhere, including participating in social activities and communicating with family and friends. On the other hand, the Internet facilitates communication with geographically distant family and friends, and makes it easier to communicate frequently with those nearby. Two independent reviews of this research (Becker, 2000; Subrahmanyam, Kraut, Greenfield & Gross, 2000) have concluded that there are few documented social effects, either positive or negative (Kraut, Patterson, Lundmark, Kiesler, Mukopadhyay, & Scherlis, 1998; Kraut, Kiesler, Boneva, Cummings, Helgeson, & Crawford, …show more content…
(2001). The impact of computer use on children's and adolescents' development. Applied Developmental Psychology, 22, 7-30.
Tapscott, D. (1998). Growing up digital: The rise of the net generation. New York: McGraw-Hill.
UCLA Internet Project. (2000). Surveying the Digital Future: Year 1, UCLA Center for Communication Policy. University of California, Los Angeles. Available at http://www.ccp.ucla.edu. Downloaded November 3, 2000.
UCLA Internet Project. (2001). Surveying the Digital Future: Year 2, UCLA Center for Communication Policy. University of California, Los Angeles. Available at http://www.ccp.ucla.edu. Downloaded September 12, 2001.
UCLA Internet Project. (2003). Surveying the Digital Future, Year 3, UCLA Center for Communication Policy. University of California, Los Angeles. Available at http://www.ccp.ucla.edu. Downloaded October 12, 2003.
U.S. Department of Commerce. (2000). Falling through the Net: Toward Digital Inclusion. National Information and Telecommunications Agency. Available at http://search.ntia.doc.gov/pdf/fttn00.pdf. Downloaded August 23,
Science Briefs
Children and Internet Use: Social, Psychological and Academic Consequences for Low-income Children
Does Using the Internet Affect Children's Development?
By Linda A. Jackson, PhD, Alexander vo Eye, PhD, and Frank Biocca, PhD
Does using the Internet affect children's development? Do children become socially isolated or connected when they use the Internet? Do they become depressed or elated? Does school performance suffer or improve? A wealth of opinion, anecdotal evidence and media hype has attempted to answer these questions. At one extreme are the Internet enthusiasts who view Internet use as the panacea for all that plagues society, including inadequacies in the educational system. …show more content…
On the one hand, time spent online is time not spent elsewhere, including participating in social activities and communicating with family and friends. On the other hand, the Internet facilitates communication with geographically distant family and friends, and makes it easier to communicate frequently with those nearby. Two independent reviews of this research (Becker, 2000; Subrahmanyam, Kraut, Greenfield & Gross, 2000) have concluded that there are few documented social effects, either positive or negative (Kraut, Patterson, Lundmark, Kiesler, Mukopadhyay, & Scherlis, 1998; Kraut, Kiesler, Boneva, Cummings, Helgeson, & Crawford, …show more content…
(2001). The impact of computer use on children's and adolescents' development. Applied Developmental Psychology, 22, 7-30.
Tapscott, D. (1998). Growing up digital: The rise of the net generation. New York: McGraw-Hill.
UCLA Internet Project. (2000). Surveying the Digital Future: Year 1, UCLA Center for Communication Policy. University of California, Los Angeles. Available at http://www.ccp.ucla.edu. Downloaded November 3, 2000.
UCLA Internet Project. (2001). Surveying the Digital Future: Year 2, UCLA Center for Communication Policy. University of California, Los Angeles. Available at http://www.ccp.ucla.edu. Downloaded September 12, 2001.
UCLA Internet Project. (2003). Surveying the Digital Future, Year 3, UCLA Center for Communication Policy. University of California, Los Angeles. Available at http://www.ccp.ucla.edu. Downloaded October 12, 2003.
U.S. Department of Commerce. (2000). Falling through the Net: Toward Digital Inclusion. National Information and Telecommunications Agency. Available at http://search.ntia.doc.gov/pdf/fttn00.pdf. Downloaded August 23,