Home School Heartbeat Radio Program

Mike Smith:
Mark, I know you’ve been doing research about reading and media for a long time. Summarize for us the highlights of what you’ve learned about the way different media help to shape the developing brain of a child-books, stories read aloud, television, and so forth.

Mark Hamby:
Oh, you’ve hit a hot button in my life. The average child, for example, in the United States, only receives 21 minutes a day of primary attention with their parents, but according to the Motion Picture Association, spent up to 10 hours per day with the internet and TV. But more than that, electronic gadgets, for example, including TV, video games, they change on the screen of an average of two to four seconds.

The ADD, ADHD phenomenon is really, I believe, directly related to what a child watches on a daily basis. Now, watching TV generally shifts the brain activity from the left side, which is responsible for logical thought and analytical analysis, to the right side. The right side does not critically analyze incoming messages, but instead triggers an emotional response.

Reading demands sustained concentration whereas television promotes very short attention spans. Now all of that to say this, is that when we’re watching something, we’re really literally amusing ourselves to death.

Mike:
Well, Mark, you have convinced me that we must read more good books. And thanks for joining us today! Until next time, I’m Mike Smith.