Is Facebook unhealthy for your children? Larry Rosen, a psychologist at Cal State Dominguez Hills, thinks so. He’s been studying the effects of technology on people for the past 25 years. This time he’s turned to social networking and gaming among teenagers and children. On Saturday, he made his case at the American Psychological Association’s annual convention in Washington, D.C.
Among his findings were:
- Teens who use more technology (such as video games and the Internet) have a harder time sleeping, experience stomach problems and increased anxiety.
- Facebook users were generally more narcissistic as they are constantly given an arena for broadcasting their life. He also attributes that more Facebook use is linked to antisocial personality disorder, paranoia, anxiety and alcohol use.
- Students are less attentive to studying for an exam. When Rosen studied a group of college, high school and middle school students, most of them were only able to study for 15 minutes before turning to their mobile devices.
Rosen suggests parents maintain open conversations with their children on the amount of time spent on technology. Parents need to keep a non-judgmental position when discussing their online lifestyle, so they will be comfortable discussing how they behave with other kids online.
See the Los Angeles times for more details on Rosen’s study.
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What do you think? Has social networking and the Internet harmed our children’s growth? Speak your mind and comment below.
