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Annotated Bibliography

Do Computers and Smart Phones Effect Child Development of Social Skills?

Lauren Taylor

Professor Malcolm Campbell

UWRT 1104

19 March, 2019
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Annotated Bibliography

Campbell, Leah. “How Smart Phones Are Causing Kids to Experience ‘Altered Childhoods.’”

Healthline, Healthline Media, 2018, https://www.healthline.com/health-news/smart-

phones-causing-kids-to-experience-altered-childhoods#1. Accessed 19 Feb. 2019.

This academic website examines how addiction to one’s phone as a teen can be harmful

and how it may have taken away from some childhood experiences. Common Sense

Media was said to have found that seventy two percent of teens feel the need to respond

to their notifications immediately. Many will say that they are not dependent on the

device, however fifty nine percent from that same media source admitted to having the

feeling of addiction when on their device. According to Dr. David Hill from the AAP

Council, a phone addiction is based on the fact of how much sleep, exercise, family time,

homework, and more than one is achieving. According to a journal of Child

Development, teens and young children today are beginning to not be prepared for the

adult world and are starting to think that technology is the real interactions needed in the

world, not face to face. The Clinical Psychological Science journal found that those in

grades eight to twelve that have an increased rate of social media use on their phones led

them to a depressive and suicidal state. The entire article uses scientific evidence from

the years 2017-2018 which shows how relevant it is today. It is not outdated or

irrelevant. The author later goes into how these patterns lead to a lack in family time.

This can later lead to a gap between family members and have an effect on children as

they are not getting one on one attention and making memories that are required to feel

loved and welcomed. Families can change this, but it is all a matter of boundaries and

watching out for the child’s overall health and patterns. This website does not have a
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first-person point of view such as the one from The New York Times and is more factual

based than opinions. It obtains information gathered from many other researchers,

surveys, and organizations making it a great source to use in my project. This source is

published by an association and is reliable considering it is medical based and the author

has a credible background. It is objective and makes me think of all the outcomes that

too much technology use can lead to as a child grows into a teenager. The author is

trying to reach out to parents with children who seem to have an addiction to their

devices and help them see how it effects their life. This has not changed my view on my

topic but has opened my eyes to more information I can use to write my final project.

Feiler, Bruce. “When Tech is a Problem Child.” The New York Times, The New York

Times, 2016, https://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/20/fashion/children-technology-

limits-smartphones.html. Accessed 21 Feb. 2019.

This reliable journal is eye opening on things relating technology to the interactions of

young individuals. It holds a first-person point of view as the author is trying to discover

what parents are doing to enable their children to use computers and phones, but only to a

certain extent. The primary question in the source is how much time with a computer or

phone for children is too much when they are still developing. Considering this, he

turned to social media to do his experiments and surveys that asked questions about

punishments, homework, bedtimes, and more. Many individuals responded to the twenty

questions sharing things about their process of balancing technology in their household.

Some advised that it helped when they put certain locks on old phones they had already

such as wifi, internet access, and more so that their child was unable to access them. This

tended to show less time that they were on their phone, as well as when a type of
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“contract” was built where internet access was allowed only for thirty minutes to an hour

a day. Much more goes in the limitations of a child’s first phone, leading to an important

part to be cautious about, homework. Most parents think it is reasonable for their kid to

communicate with their friends via phone while doing homework. The use of computers

on the other hand were stricter. The majority of parents agreed that computers should be

used only for things related to school such as Google, Word, and more. The author used

evidence from researchers at King’s College London when he later discussed bedtimes.

These researchers found an that increase rate of device usage leads to a large decrease in

sleep rates. Yes, every parent sets their own boundaries, however it is scientifically

proven that a set bedtime where technology is terminated for the night leads to better

sleeping habits, less stress, and more. First time phones are a big deal for young children,

but social media is another huge concern for parents. The author outlines how the

majority of parents only allow one social media platform and demand to know both

usernames and passwords for their child to be able to use it. If they break these rules, this

can lead to punishments which was another focus by the author. He talks of the need for

punishment in able to teach children the rights and wrongs of technology use. These

rules must allow constructive growth for the child and must be able to teach them how to

balance real life with a computer or phone screen. For the most part, the author provides

an objective credentials in his journal as he is sharing the advice of those who responded

to his questions. He is reliable and has a main focus to help parents, such as himself, to

learn more about the balance of screen time in today’s society. This journal helps shape

my argument in a helpful manner as it is a recently published source that hold opinions

from parents on both sides of the argument. I saw a lot of information that I had already
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been thinking about myself and it helped prosper my thinking and shine a new light on all

sides of the spectrum. It is similar in many ways to my other resources, however this one

holds a variety of topics that are relevant, therefore this will be used in my project.

Lajunen, Hanna-Reetta, et al. “Are Computers and Cell Phone Use Associated with Body Mass

Index and Overweight? A Popular Study Among Twin Adolescents.” BMC Public

Health, BioMed Central Ltd., 2007,

https://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1471-2458-7-24. Accessed

1 Mar. 2019.

This scholarly article outlines the correlation between weight problems and the use of a

cellular device, gaming consul, and computer. A group of Finnish twins born from 1983-

1987 were assessed and observed to see the possible relation between screen time and

BMI. Body mass index is a health concern for all individuals that must be kept in mind

especially as a child is developing. Being over one’s BMI can lead to health concerns

and possibly later end up turning into obesity or an eating disorder. This article

demonstrates the results of many experiments done on these twins and their relation

between technology use and weight impacts. More data was available from the female

side of things rather than the male. A lot goes into the research of the relation between

BMI and technology. There are outside factors to keep in consideration such as genes,

exercise, and even education levels. Much of the article includes percent BMI in

correlation to technological usage. In conclusion, the authors found that cell phone use

was weakly correlated to BMI, however increase in use of technology could later lead to

an epidemic of obesity in children and young adults. The audience that the authors are

reaching out to are parents that need advice on technological use for their child’s health
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and development, which is similar to those of my previous articles. A variety of

statistical evidence is laid out in the entirety of the article, however all of it is not

necessary for my project. I will use some of the evidence found in this, although the

article is slightly outdated. It was published in 2007 and technology has changed a lot

since then as well as the effect that we know it has on children. Overall, the article did

change my idea slightly on my topic as it showed me that things such as video games are

not a direct relation to weight gain. This has opened my eyes to the narrower impacts

phones and computers have on healthy development, such as slight weight gain, of

adolescents and not just the broad things that are seen on media platforms, such as mass

spread of obesity.

Subrahmanyam, Kaveri, et al. “The Impact of Home Computer Use on Children’s Activities and

Development.” The Future of Children, Princeton University, 2000,

https://www.jstor.org/stable/1602692?casa_token=QlDGgr0qQFIAAAAA:tw7SJd2t9uhe

qOGoV6HcA03MyLiagmDXY_iAVvaGwvcid3MznqT1HcFA_86KygGf2wdUttIElRH3

LY-

PuXl6Q4z68G0EV5jOTmWlH6Q7cETPkJdSFQ&seq=2#metadata_info_tab_contents.

Accessed 14 Feb. 2019.

This popular journal talks much of the social development of an adolescent that uses

technology such as phones and computers on a regular basis. There is a mix of research

discoveries that have opened the eyes of many individuals on the impact these have on

young children. The authors speak on the impact’s computers have on social skills of

children and how they are being affected in multiple ways. Many researchers have found

that things, such as video games, have caused an increase in desire for children to
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participate in events such as sports, clubs, and outdoor activities. The authors contribute

to this thought by talking about the impacts these things have on obesity and other

physical effects. This fact is somewhat different than that of another one of my articles,

“Are Computers and Cell Phone Use Associated with Body Mass Index and Overweight?

A Popular Study Among Twin Adolescents”, as it says there that technologies do not

affect the weight or exercise of an individual. However, this will be good to use in

project as I can then give opinions and factual evidence from both sides of the spectrum.

Later in the text, the authors proceed by talking about the result computers, movies, video

games, and more have on academic performances. Apparently, some video computer

games have a positive effect on a child’s learning abilities. Some can even enhance their

cognitive thinking. They talk of the fear some older individuals have on children being

able to get information easily and how they may not be retaining it. Continuing, like

some of my other sources, the authors talk about different genders and the correlation

with screen time. This is helpful to see because in my source “Are Computers and Cell

Phone Use Associated with Body Mass Index and Overweight? A Popular Study Among

Twin Adolescents” it was difficult for the authors to find more information on males than

females. For the most part, I will use this source to set argumentative points from both

sides, the effects on social development as it relates to health, and to portray some of the

survey charts that demonstrate the amount used of certain technologies. This journal is

much longer than any of my other sources I am using. It touches base on a variety of

more sub-topics that relate to my final project. With that being said, I will be using this

in project as it provides factual evidence from a variety of reliable authors. It is not only

longer, but is included in a textbook, Children and Computer Technology (pages 123-
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144). Overall, I believe this is the most beneficial source that I have found as it is filled

with a variety of information I have been looking for to include in my project.