The Effects of Television on Cognitive Development

Having originally been patented and sold to the masses as early as 1928, the television has existed as a staple of the American household for less than 100 years; studies regarding the cognitive effects of watching large amounts of television have been around for an even shorter period of time. However, these studies have been performed on a sufficient number of subjects and over a significant enough period of time so as to develop a correlation between the number of hours of television viewed by an individual, and measurable changes in said individual’s cognitive and psychological development. Due to the results of several published and widely accepted academic studies, it is highly likely that increased levels of television viewing in children results in generally negative and stunted cognitive development across the board.

Of the many studies conducted regarding cognitive development in children with relation to television usage, many have come to the conclusion that language development can be both helped or hindered depending upon the frequency and types of television programs being watched. Because of such potential hindrances, the American Academy of Pediatrics has recommended that children under the age of 24 months not be exposed to television of any kind. However, according to a study published in the American Behavioral Scientist called “Infant’s and Toddler’s Television Viewing and Language Outcome” (Linebarger & Walker, 2005), the importance of content type and programming cannot be understated with relation to the developmental aspects of language in children who watch television. The findings of the study indicate that there were different outcomes for different television programs on different age groups: 30-month-old toddlers if exposed to programs such as “Dora the Explorer”, “Blue’s Clues”, “Arthur,” “Clifford,” or “Dragon Tales,” exhibited larger vocabularies and increased expressive language scores, whereas the same children, when exposed to “Teletubbies,” exhibited smaller vocabularies and decreased expressive language scores.

Another study published in The Journal of Pediatrics entitled “Associations between Media Viewing and Language Development in Children Under Age 2 Years,” also reinforces the hypothesis that children suffer from poor language development when exposed to television at an early age. The results of the study concluded that each hour of television usage per day for infants between 8 and 16 months of age, correlated with a nearly 17% decrease in score for the “Communicative Development Inventory,” a language development assessment designed to track the cognitive development of language and communications skills in children. However, toddlers between the ages of 17 to 24 months did not exhibit a decrease in the Communicative Development Inventory score, in fact showing little no significant associations between television usage and poor language performance (Zimmerman, Christakis & Meltzoff, 2007). This indicates that there may indeed be a threshold on the language development hindrances of television, but the level of exposure through infancy must be in compliance with the recommendations of the American Academy of Pediatrics in order to cross said threshold undamaged.

A second typical conclusion to be divulged from studies done on television usage and its effects on the cognitive development of children is the increase in diagnoses of ADHD – Inattentive Type and overall shortened attention spans. According to a study published in The Journal of Pediatrics entitled “Early Television Exposure and Subsequent Attentional Problems in Children,” early television exposure is associated with attentional disorders around age 7. This data was compiled using a sample size of over 1,300 children who began the study at age 1, were assessed a second time at age 3, then assessed for a final time at age 7. Of the 1,300 plus individuals who participated in this case study, nearly 10% were diagnosed with attentional disorders symptomatic of ADHD (Christakis, Zimmerman & DiGiuseppe, 2004).

This study performed by Christakis et al. is cited in an article that ran in the journal American Behavioral Scientist, entitled “Television and Very Young Children.” The article praises the study as having found a solid correlation between early television exposure and attentional disorders later in life, though it does offer several constructive critiques on the order of the methodology (Anderson & Pempek, 2005). The article also acknowledges the 1.09 odds ratio for statistical correlation of attention disorder to early television exposure but goes on to state that early childhood education programs were not in syndication during the case study (the 1980’s) and that children with attention disorders could potentially be more likely to engage in early television exposure as a parental coping mechanism for a fussy child.

A third result that is usually found in studies performed on the cognitive development of children with relation to television exposure is the increase in aggressive and violent behaviors. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Public Education, as much as 10% to 20% of real-life violence may be attributed to violence portrayed in the media (Children, Adolescents and Television, 2001). The report cites the (then) recently completed “National Television Violence Study,” which came to the conclusion that not only does 66% of all television programming contain some form of violence, but it is children’s shows that comprise the bulk of the two-thirds of programming.

The alarming claims made in the Committee on Public Education’s report regarding the level of real-life violence inspired by media violence are substantiated in a study published in the Journal of Advertising entitled “Television Commercial Violence: Potential Effects on Children.” The study in question stated that not only is there a very large amount of violent content targeting demographics ages 12 and under, but a thorough review of the literature on the subject constitutes a near-unanimous finding that violent content does exacerbate violent and/or aggressive tendencies in children who are exposed to it (Brocato, Gentile, Laczniak, Maier & Ji-Song, 2010). Furthermore, a report from the U.S. Surgeon General cited by the study indicates that there is a strong statistical correlation between the viewing of violent content and increased aggressive behaviors in children, potentially culminating in the development of a more aggressive personality traits over the long term.

The fourth and final typical result that can be found in a myriad of studies regarding the development of children in relation to television exposure is the prevalence of childhood obesity among those children who are considered indicative of overexposure. According to “Television, Video and Computer Game Usage in Children Under 11 Years of Age,” published in The Journal of Pediatrics, television viewing has not only been associated with higher levels of obesity, but an increase in exposure to television, video and computer games correlates with an increase in obesity levels (Christakis, Ebel, Rivara & Zimmerman, 2004).

In addition to the positive correlation between obesity levels and hours of exposure to electronic media concluded by Christakis et al, there was also a positive correlation between the levels of television exposure exhibited by parents in relation to their kids. “Parental Influences on Youth Television Viewing,” published in The Journal of Pediatrics hypothesized that parents who did not enforce the American Academy of Pediatrics recommended levels of exposure were generally overexposed to television in and of themselves (Barradas, Fulton & Blanck, 2007). The conclusions of the study managed to prove the hypothesis correct, finding that parental viewing time was a significant factor in whether or not a child became overexposed or exhibited any of the aforementioned symptoms or issues related to cognitive impairment caused by early television exposure.

While the potential cognitive impairment related to early exposure to television on a regular basis has been well documented, it stands to reason that correlation does not always equal causation. Many of the studies mentioned elsewhere in this essay have been peer-reviewed and published in respected academic journals, but, nevertheless, the scientific method is fickle and experiments that leave no stone unturned in terms of variables or bias are hard to come by. According to a research study published in the Economics of Education Review entitled “Is the “Idiot Box” raising idiocy? Early and middle-childhood television watching and child cognitive outcome,” this lack of established causality may be the missing link in how exposure to television and other electronic media actually affects the cognitive development of children; that is to say, not very much, at least not in a negative fashion. The study proclaims that, while the scientific community at large will find correlations in the number of hours of television watched on a daily basis and negative cognitive impairment, the characteristics of the child’s parents and unobserved characteristics of the child itself need be taken into account (Munasib & Bhattacharya, 2010). When these variables are inserted into the existing data, the study claims, the strong correlations between cognitive impairment and television exposure are mitigated.

The study employed data from the 1979 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY79) and its associated child survey (NLSY79 child) with a sample of 12,686 respondents. The study removed several variables of parent and child behavior that might correlate with the potentially negative results of such a study when used in conjunction with relative data regarding television exposure and average test scores. In reality, however, the data set could be potentially skewed by such factors as socioeconomic status, family structure, or even the personality traits of either parent or child. The findings the authors of the study put forth when the aforementioned factors are controlled, suggest that any evidence of negative cognitive impairment solely due to television exposure may actually be overstated. In fact, the study demonstrates and concludes that there is no causal effect between the hours of television watched and cognitive impairment, in this experiment represented by average math test scores. It goes on to say that because there is no causality for cognitive impairment in relation to total television exposure that the guidelines and recommendations set forth by the American Academy of Pediatrics are misguided because they do not address the issue of potential cognitive impairment in a fashion that is supported by complete scientific validation. The authors conclude that issues may arise with policy decisions being based upon such scant evidence not only because of the marginal effect it may have on increasing cognitive development (if at all) but because a misguided effort in this capacity may yield a misallocation of resources in place of the desired effect.

The negative effects of early childhood television exposure on cognitive development have been well documented, and more evidence piles up on a yearly basis regarding the many other effects of extended exposure to television and other electronic media. The previously mentioned issues of stunted language development, attentional disorders up to and including full-blown ADHD, increased rates of violent and aggressive behavior and an increased chance of obesity, in addition to other, equally negative and disturbing problems such as increased risks of alcohol and substance abuse, increased risk of contracting sexually transmitted diseases and poorer performance in school are nothing to scoff at. The notion that correlation does not equal causation with relation to levels of television exposure and levels of cognitive development is largely correct, but the repeated accuracy of television exposure as a metric for developmental issues in children and cognitive ability later in life cannot be understated or ignored.

References

Anderson, D. R., & Pempek, T. A. (2005). Television and Very Young Children. American Behavioral Scientist, 48(5), 505-522.

Barradas, BS, D. T., Fulton, PhD, J. E., Blanck, PhD, H. M., & PhD, M. H. (2007). Parental Influences on Youth Television Viewing. The Journal of Pediatrics, 151(4), 369-373.

Brocato, E. D., Gentile, D. A., Laczniak, R. N., Maier, J. A., & Ji-Song, M. (2010). Television Commercial Violence: Potential Effects on Children. Journal of Advertising, 39(4), 95-107.

Christakis, MD, MPH, D. A., Ebel, MD, MSc, MPH, B. E., Rivara, MD, MPH, F. P., & Zimmerman, PhD, F. J. (2004). Television, Video and Computer Game Usage in Children Under 11 Years of Age. The Journal of Pediatrics, 114, 652-656.

Christakis, MD, MPH, D. A., Zimmerman, PhD, F. J., DiGiuseppe, Msc, D. L., & McCarty, PhD, C. A. (2004). Early Television Exposure and Subsequent Attentional Problems in Children. The Journal of Pediatrics, 113(4), 708-713.

Committee on Public Education, A. A. (2001). Children, Adolescents and Television. The Journal of Pediatrics,107(2), 423-426.

Linebarger, D. L., & Walker, D. (2005). Infants' and Toddlers' Television Viewing and Language Outcomes. American Behavioral Scientist, 48(5), 624-645.

Munasib, A., & Bhattacharya, S. (2010). Is the ‘Idiot’s Box’ raising idiocy? Early and middle childhood television watching and child cognitive outcome. Economics of Education Review, 29, 873-883.

Zimmerman, PhD, F. J., Christakis, MD, MPH, D. A., & Meltzoff, PhD, A. N. (2007). Associations between Media Viewing and Language Development in Children Under Age 2 Years. The Journal of Pediatrics,150(4), 364-368.