San Jose Mercury News – Martha Ross
“It doesn’t seem that long ago that many parents felt guilty for using even the highly acclaimed “Sesame Street” to baby-sit their kids while they cooked dinner. But a not-so-funny thing happened on our way to our high-tech-enamored world of 2015: Children’s recreational use of screens, phones and entertainment media has exploded. “It’s up considerably from years past,” says Richard Freed, a Walnut Creek child and adolescent psychologist…And that’s not a recipe for a balanced, well-adjusted life, he and other media and educational experts say. Emerging research shows that kids’ overuse of TV, computers, video games, tablets and smartphones hinders their physical, intellectual, social and emotional development…”Technology isn’t the problem,” says Freed…The problem comes when screen time is overused and displaces family, school and other experiences…”(more)