OVERVIEW

 

Our society is increasingly concerned about the interaction between youth and technology.  Digital media have very quickly become a pervasive presence in children’s lives, from toilet-training apps for toddlers to social networking sites for teens.  Devices like smart phones and iPads have transformed how children and adolescents spend their time at home, in the back of the car, at school, and with friends. More than two-thirds of teens own their own Internet-enabled mobile device, and most of them visit their social networking sites at least once a day.

 

IDMCD believes in the tremendous potential of integrative research -  in fields from neuroscience to child development -  to enhance our society’s understanding of the impact of technology in our children’s lives. 

 

This research can improve the lives of children and families by helping to identify kids who are susceptible to problems with technology, improve the interaction between children and digital media, and ease parental stress surrounding this issue by creating clear and applicable recommendations that result from objective, multidisciplinary research. 

 

We aim to provide guidance to help young people reach their potentials.  

 

SCIENTISTS and RESEARCHERS are beginning to discuss the potential impacts of digital media use in medical terms:  Are toddlers’ neural pathways transformed in a different way? Are school children’s focusing capacities diminished by structural brain changes? Are teens suffering from “Facebook depression” or video game “addiction” via dopamine pathways?  What media content and time works best for youth across platforms and demographics?  The developing mind and brain has been identified as a great research frontier as there have been substantial technological advances that enable the study of real-time changes in the brain during media use.  

 

PARENTS want to better understand how digital media affects their children's mental and physical health and are looking for guidance from the scientific and medical communities. 

 

SOCIAL COMMENTATORS AND THE MEDIA want to cover this issue and need a centralized resource of the most relevant questions and research results.

 

EDUCATORS are on the front lines of the interface between technology and education and want greater understanding of if and how to use technology in the classroom.

 

POLICY MAKERS are looking for objective, scientific knowledge that can guide their decision–making processes