Psych 167 Final

Attention economy - what that means, why it is relevant

An approach to the management of information that treats human attention as a scarce commodity, and applies economic theory to solve various information management problems. Media companies need us to pay attention to their content- thats how they make money. With social media, advertising is the economic engine. Engineers and product designers constantly update our phones to be more and more persuasive. Think back to development and advertising... our phones are taking more and more of our attention and becoming more and more distracting and thus affecting our cognition.

What are the current American Academy of Pediatrics guidelines and how they changed from last iteration

Before: Recommended to keep children under 2 away from screen media. Now: 18 mo. avoid screen media use except video chatting. Parents of children 18-24 mo. who want to introduce digital media should choose high quality programming and apps to watch and play alongside children. No screens during meals and 1 hour before bedtime. Limit screen use to 1 hour pr day of high quality programming for 2-5 year olds- this does not include constructive/connective types of media use such as vs, taking pics, looking at maps, looking up info- its just about entertainment. Issue: It s too hard to follow guidelines because what if you have a 2 and 4 year old, you can't separate them... Its TOO SIMPLISTIC to just put rules around ages and hours of the day.

What are some positive findings on how social media contribute to adolescent development?

- Online environments reflect, compliment, and reinforce offline relationships, practices, and processes. - Increased self esteem. - Increased social capital- resources accessed through one's social relationships. - Safe identity exploration - Social support - More opportunity for self disclosure and feeling of belonging. (ALL CRITICAL FOR HEALTHY GROWTH AND IDENTITY DEVELOPMENT). - Could be keeping parents and teens more connected. - More connection with existing friends. - Can provide a much needed connection- a lot of teens feel less depressed, less lonely, and better about themselves - Over 70% dont feel better or worst after

What is going on developmentally during the preteen stage that makes social media and mobile technology appealing?

- Peers become more salient. - They are experiencing enormous physical, cognitive, and social changes- puberty. - Transition to larger schools. - Popularity and pecking order. - Growing independence from parents - Concern about appearance and what friends think - Strong swinging emotions - Exploration of sexuality - Trying on different identities - Lack of consideration for consequences. Gain social cognition... media just connects them with their peers more and less mediation with parents so it exacerbates these.

Different kinds of Parental media mediation and possible online behavioral outcomes

1. Restrictive Mediation (most common for young) 2. Permissive Mediation (most common for adolescents) 3. Active Mediation- the best.

What do we know about how smartphones affect mental health?

13 and 20% of children in the US experience a mental disorder in a given year, 33% increase in number of 8th to 12th graders who had high levels of depressive symptoms in 2010-2015. Suicide is second leading cause of death in people age 15-24. Teens who spent 5+ hours on devices were 66% more likely to have at least 1 suicide related outcome. But other data shows that media only explains .35% depressive symptoms, so connection is unclear. WHAT WE KNOW FOR SURE: Teens who use the most social media are the most unhappy, teens who use social media passively or to only get likes or follows have the most negative outcomes. Leads to disturbed sleep which impairs mental health. Increased night time mobile phone use is associated with increasing externalizing behavior and decreased self esteem and coping. The Good: Social media users with depressive symptoms are more likely to say that social media is very important for them for feeling LESS alone, getting inspirations from others, and expressing themselves creatively. In fact, .4% adolescent well being related to screen use. Thing about FOMO and anxiety.

What average age do children boys and girls get exposed to online porn?

13-14 for boys and 14-15 for girls. First place they learn about sex for most.

What are some differences in the ways that children learn from stories at different ages and stages?

2-5: Let physical characteristics dominate- if someone looks nice then they're nice. If a narrative has several storylines, young children forget the main character's central goal- focus on one main narrative supported by action. 5-6: Can comprehend moral lessons, but they need to be simple. They won't get moral of study if metaphors and complex storylines are used. Folk tales and fables make it harder to understand moral lesson than realistic stories- they like relating to protagonist so lived experiences plays a role... for a child to reproduce a protagonists prosocial behavior they have to see themselves. 6-10: Still have difficulty when there is too much secondary content- the character's motives should be temporarily connected in order with actions and consequences in order for children to be able to make the links. Extract moral lessons from fables at 9. 11 and up: Major changes occur in socio-cognitive and information processing capabilities. Improved ability to take other's perspectives and reason on abstract level. Subplots and content with nuance can be introduced. Tweens and Teens: Can full summarize the gist or main theme of story at 14. They often reject moralistic messages in order to protect their sense of freedom and or reassert independence. Most effective digital media in this age should come in narrative rather than didactic forms.

When do children start to learn themes and moral lessons in fables?

9 years old. This is when you can retell general principle of story rather than just specific parts only.

What are the differences in reading on paper versus on screen? How does introducing the Internet into the equation affect memory, comprehension and critical thinking?

99p of students said that reading on iPad distracted them and 1 in 3 admitted to playing games. Study tested memory and comprehension: participants read short passages on paper or computer with or without internet. No difference between the conditions in terms of performance. However, PARTICIPANTS IN INTERNET CONDITION (multitasking) took longer. In another study, participants were asked to write a report. Three conditions: computer only, paper only, real word (w internet). There was no significant difference found between paper only and computer only but the real world had significantly lower scores. Classes with iPad, computers, or none compared, and condition with none did better.

Digital Citizenship and media literacy- what does that mean, what are some of things that are taught in these kinds of lessons

Ability to assess, analyze, evaluate, and create media. Media literate youth and adults are better able to understand the complex messages we receive from media. Teach kids to think critically about content and be aware of what consequences their online actions have... Look at authorship, format, audience, content, and purpose of media messages- most media are made to gain profit or power and creative techniques are used to attract attention, so being aware of these tricks makes you more media literate.

ABCD Study

Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development. Longitudinal cross country starting with 9 and 10 year olds. Involves brain scanning and other tests. 11,000 kids and high cost. MRI found significant differences in brains of some kids who have screen media activity for more than 7 hours a day. Little evidence of screen media activity brain structure differences with internal pathology. Some evidence to external pathology (conduct disorder). Gaming related positively to crystallized intelligence, social media related negatively to crystallized intelligence- but there are other things that correlate with that too. Remember that this is a snapshot in one time so we cannot address these yet.

What are ways that adults can help children, in particular younger children, learn from media content and better comprehend narratives?

Adult CO-VIEWING and INTERACTIVE MEDIATION can substantially affect ways children attend to media and make meaning of it. Character focused conversations- talk to kids about it and give positive examples and emphasize what you wanted them to take out of it. Ex. Look at George, he was surprised. Would you be surprised? Show me the face you would make!

Joint media engagement, co-viewing

Adult co-viewing and mediation can substantially affect ways children attend to media and make meaning. Social scaffolding. This introduces MEDIA LITERACY- teaches kids to think critically about the content and be smart about it.

How has advertising changed in the digital age?

Advertising content on Youtube via product placement and stuff. Children are targets because they are gullible. Through social media, brands interact directly with teens and their friends outside purview of adults. Retailers that target teens use impression management to influence perceptions and invite social comparison by placing online or mobile ads that feature attractive actors using their merchandise. Trick kids with giveaways and other features.

What are some of the ways that face to face communication may be superior to mediated communication?

Camp Study: Compared kids who spent 5 days at camp with no media and 5 days in a regular media environment. Showed them snippets of video and kids had to say how the people were feeling in the video. Those who spent time without screen were BETTER AT UNDERSTANDING NONVERBAL EMOTIONAL CUES. F2F is really important for reading body language, facial expressions, and drawing info from context. Videos do not show the whole context, its zoomed and focused. We also do not need to interact with a video... Additionally, there have been findings about importance of gaze following, pointing, sibling interaction, and video deficit. These are all cues you learn in F2F- body language, tone of voice, expressions... Social cues missing from TV impair learning in young viewers so providing those views and contingent responsiveness (interaction) can help them learn.

What is COPPA and why is it important:

Children's Online Privacy Act, run by the Federal Trade Commission. Requires operators of online websites and services directed at children under 13 to provide notice and obtain permission from a child's parents before collecting personal information from that child. Any social media site or website that is not COPPA compliant has it in their terms that children under 13 cannot use this site. Important because it protects children from advertisements that could trick or deceive them online. Marketing can encourage eating disorders, precocious sexuality, youth aggression, and family stress. As young children are developing their gender identities, they are flooded with ads for products promoting sexualized stereotypes.

What do people do on YouTube?

Children's content, how to lessons, news, making purchasing decisions, passing time...

Social scaffolding - how does this make a difference in learning from media

Co-viewing and talking about what the child saw in media. Connecting the on screen content to the off screen world and using dialogue when talking to kid.

How might use of social media amplify traditionally developmental tasks in the preteen and teen years? MEMORIZE

Constantly in contact with friends and thus constantly under pressure to fit in and socialize. You can manage how you are perceived and put forth an altered image via profiles- reputation. Sexting and digital dating abuse- sexual exploration. Access can be somewhat dangerous because on social media teens are given free reign to do all these things that they are already trying to do without having the capabilities to determine if they are good or bad sometimes... digital footprint can be a problem. Kids want to do all the tasks mentioned above and social media is perfect vehicle to explore them...

What is digital inequality and how may it affect kids

Constrained access to the internet and devices connected to it. Being connected to the internet has become essential. Helpful resources for all sorts of things are online. Tech is critical for students- pathway to educational opportunity. So not having access can exacerbate educational and economic inequality. Young kids get less learning opportunities. Educational games make a big difference for kids, tech engages and motivates kids, STEM future. Online homework and connecting with teachers and students.

What is the cultivation theory? What is the social identity theory?

Cultivation Theory- People's views of social reality is modeled by the media. Social Identity Theory- People are motivated to maintain a POSITIVE self concept by comparing favorable characteristics of their in group with parallel unfavorable characteristics of the relevant out-group.

Does cyberbullying have worse effects on mental health than in person bullying? If so, why or why not?

Cyberbullying victims can be bullied anytime and from anywhere: permanence, 247, replication. Prevalence rates range from 10 - 40%. The negative effects of cyberbullying appear to be STRONGER than in person bullying and contribute to wide range of mental and physical health problems. When there are mean comments online, don't know how they can go to school and face everyone. Feel alone against the world- if friends are sending around stuff about you, who can you trust. Feeling like you have to send sexy pictures or passwords so a guy likes you. Anonymity online allows for more bullying too.

What is some advice you would give a parent of a toddler, tween, teen about how to manage their child's media use?

Every adult to want to help their kid navigate the media world should consider their own media behavior- your child learns from you. Set device free time to allow for F2F time because that is important for development of social cues. Co- view with your children and teach. Focus on three C's, use active and interactive mediation, social scaffolding, and introduce media literacy.

How lack of diversity in images affect kids

Exposure to media featuring muscular male bodies can result in increase in depression and muscle dissatisfaction in boys. TV viewing positively correlates with adolescent's agreement with perceptions of normality of affluence. More TV watching and increased social media use correlates with increased desire for fame. TV exposure predicted decrease in global self esteem except for white boys- weak to moderate predictor of lowered self esteem for white girls, black girls, and black boys. Majority of content on TV reinforces gender role and racial stereotypes. White girls and black kids are using these messages as basis for self evaluation that negatively affects their self esteem. TV viewing can be displacing real life experiences that can be building their self esteem.

What is FOMO? How does it apply to social media? How can affect an adolescent?

It can drive engagement with social media and anxiety is a key component of it. Increased FOMO associated to increased stress related to FB use. On call communication and never ending notifications have a huge effect. Having to know what is going on, staying up to keep tabs, feeling like you have to keep up otherwise you will be replaced so you multitask... People will check notifications even if it makes them feel bad!! Much of this pressure leads to less sleep! Blue light. Lack of sleep impacts mental health.

What are the fears around mobile phones and which ones is there evidence to support adult concern? Which ones is there not evidence to support concern?

Fears: Strangers, cyberbullying, not being present, divide between parents and kids, alternate identities, digital footprint, multitasking, lack of sleep. Dont Worry About: Cyberbullying- bullies are often the same online and offline. Not Being Present- Most studies find social media can help kids after social exclusion and also supports offline friendships. Distance from Parents- Less time spent together, but same relationship quality. Alternate Identities- Doesn't happen much. Worry About: Multitasking- Affects grades, missed class, distraction Sleep- Good evidence it affects sleep quality

What are some challenges and negative aspects of using social media, in particular during the adolescent years?

For teens who report low friendship quality, greater tech us can make them feel more lonely and isolated when used for entertainment vs communication. Constantly in contact with friends = constant pressure to fit in and keep up. Cyberbullying. Exposure to developmentally inappropriate content. Social anxiety, FOMO. Comparison and trying to measure up. Drama- being left out, significant others. Those who are more depressed report having more negative experiences on social media.

Why do adolescents send sexts? What are some ways that gender plays a role in sexting?

Gender Roles: Many males focus on pleasure and bodily aspects of sexual behaviors while women focus on romance and ideal love. Men tend to receive more social approval for sexual activity while women can be labeled as prude or a slut. Many young women have lower sexual agency (capacity to communicate sexual desires and initiate sexual interactions). More men have access to informal networks to learn about sexuality. Young women have conflicting scripts that both encourage and dissuade sending photos. Pressures to do so include desires for relational benefits, persistent requests, ager displays from partners, and the perception that everyone does it. Young women reported that they couldn't or didn't want to disappoint partner and expressed feeling bad and guilty bc the young man questioned their love and devotion. Associated with increases in social ostracism, depression, and suicides. Reproduces and promotes gender stereotypes and inequality in sexual power dynamics. Sexting is defined as the sexually explicit images, videos, or messages sent through electronic means. 15% have sent and 27% have received- 1/8 teens have sent one without consent, and the older they get the more likely. 2/5 students who have sexted have not had sex.

Why limit time young children spend with media?

Initial environmental influences are important for future. First few years are critical to growth of brain. Gaze following and joint attention emerge- complex and accurate eye movements. Babies show patterns of brain specialization for processing faces... develop new brain circuits that integrate visual and motor information in environment, allowing them to learn from social world. Seeing human faces is important!!!

3 Cs - what they mean and why they are important. Be able to give examples.

Instead of timing children's tech use, we need to consider CHILD, CONTEXT, CONTENT. Context: Child on iPad at beach is bad, but child playing with teacher on iPad is great. SOCIAL INTERACTION makes all the differences in tech use when you are young. An adult must talk about what is seen. Who is with the child? How is it embedded within their daily routine? Don't use during dinner when there should be conversation. Is the adults own media use causing them to tune out and miss interactions with child? Content: PBS show highly rated because it teaches empathy and has an app along with it that is interactive so it has a social component. Content lacking social component, lacking, or troubling is not good. The content should STIMULATE OFF SCREEN LEARNING and comments and play regarding imagination and creation. Child: Tune into individual's needs- motor, social, language skills... How does the media assist or impede these progresses? Consider the family's media environment.

Some of the differences in amount and ways of consuming by ethnicity, SES and gender

Kids from lower income families spend 1:39 more with screen and media every day. Those with more educated parents spend less time with media. TV exposure predicted decrease of self esteem except for white boys.

What is the digital Goldilocks hypothesis?

Large study 120k in UK of 15 year olds representative of the population. Examined displacement theory (the more time you spend online the worse your well being) and hypothesized Digital Goldilocks. Found that moderate use of digital tech is not harmful, may be helpful. Digital connectivity can increase creativity, communication skills, and development- well being. Weekday vs. Weekend Use: Weekend video game use over 3:35 or videos 4:50 a day are potentially harmful. Smartphones at weekend can be harmful if virtual social life disturbs other more activities that can take place turing teen's free time. Moderate levels of screen time are lower on weekdays bc they are richer in opportunities and socializing. People usually flipped from using moderate during weekend. Found that more than moderate time on media can be linked with negative effect on well being, but this is only equivalent to less than a third of effect of eating breakfast or getting regular sleep. Digital Activities are Not Equal: Content and context differences. 1:40 for weekday video game play, 1:57 for weekday smartphone use, 3:41 for weekday watching videos, 4:16 for weekday computer use (VIDEOS AND COMPUTER = LESS DISTURBING). Higher limit for weekends.

What is the ABCD study and why is it important?

Longitudinal study on how screen time affects people's brains- its just starting. Participants are currently 9. We dont know what is being caused by screen time, if media is bad... we wont know until we follow them overtime. Right now we have one snapshot at on time.

What is the average profile of more frequent porn users?

Males, more pubertally advanced, sensation seeking adolescents, weak or troubled family relationships. Some evidence that those with more permissive sexual attitudes and gender stereotypical beliefs consume more porn.

How is sleep affected by media use?

Mobile phones reduce sleep quality. FOMO and pressure to keep up leads to less sleep. Media and device time replace sleep time- emotionally arousing content and online communication affects sleep. Most adolescents view their phones within hour before bedtime- most also do not get enough sleep. Blue light can reduce sleep quality of kids by reducing melatonin levels (more than adults) and this lack of sleep can significantly effect mental health. Just turning off the phone leads to an hour more of sleep! Adolescents with 4 or more devices in bedrooms report more sleep difficulties. Less sleep leads to negative health outcomes like depression, low self esteem, increased externalizing behavior, inability to control emotions, poor coping, weight gain...

What are some takeaways about mobile?

Most things that happen online happen offline too. The two worlds are very much mixed. Rich get richer theory- if you have a lot of followers online then it is more likely that you have a lot of friends in person too. We need more experimental designs- most are correlational, and those that are experimental have not been replicated.

Mirror Neurons

Neuron in brain theorized to be underlying means of learning from observing others. Make 30% of our brains and we have little control over it. Stimulated when we observe anything. As we age, we learn to override these responses when exact imitation would be harmful or socially inappropriate (we wont copy someone picking their now- prefrontal cortex regulates this). Children develop the skill the override automatic imitation over a period of time so YOUNG KIDS HAVE LESS CONTROL OVER MIRROR NEURONS- more impressionable.

What are some pluses and minuses of e-books?

Pros: Can engage and hold attention. Look up definitions. Cons: Can distract and cause less conversation. Pop ups from internet. Study found that comprehension and reading skills are used by parents more with normal book! But, another study found that toddlers who read from e book payed more attention, made themselves more available for reading, displayed more positive effect, participated in page turning, produced more content related comments. Bottom line: Best way is to go old school when reading with children.

What does the data say about media and how it affects developmental brains? MEMORIZE.

New field tough to study because research takes years and technology moves quickly. There is nearly no research about the average developing brain and digital environment Costly and time consuming Recruiting youth is always a challenge All life experience affects brain activity For must history of brain research, composition of human brain can only be studied after death. Now, we have fMRI- measure brain activity without radiation, allow scientists to investigate how the brain responds to its environment. Popular media acts like we know the facts but we have a long way to go. We know that social mechanisms are being developed in early childhood like gaze following and joint attention and face/voice recognition... limit media time during this period. Teenagers feel rewards more so they take more risks. They care a lot about what their peers think and try to impress them. Seek more sensation... these behaviors are seen online too. Found that reward center is highly activated by number of likes a photo had. Another study found that peer feedback influences behavior. Prosocial peer feedback led to more prosocial behavior and enhanced activation in social brain. Girls show adjustment in their evaluation of ideal bodies to group norms- more adjustment and neural activation with girls with low self esteem. Found that increased self disclosure affects neural region associated with rewards- implies that the extensive self disclosure witnessed on social media affects brain mechanisms. ABCD Study... look at its slide.

Neuroplasticity

Our brains continue to change throughout our lifespan. Even old brains grow and adapt as result of new experiences. Childhood is a time of particular plasticity... time online can change brain (proven for adults so more likely for kids).

Ways that parents mediate their children's media

Parents tend to be more reactive than proactive when it comes to children media choices. Most saw their role primarily as media gatekeepers, either acting to approve or veto what their children select- approving, not selecting. Checking on social media profiles, software, time limit, checking texts, tracking, history checks, keeping devices central.

How does playing video games contribute to cognitive learning?

Participants in shooter video game show faster and more accurate ATTENTION allocation, higher SPATIAL resolution in VISUAL processing, and enhanced mental ROTATION abilities. Laparoscopic surgeons improved in accuracy 73% after 4 weeks of playing Wii. Girls who play video games with a spatial component will improve dramatically in this area. Used for interventions in anxiety and ADHD. Evidence that it improves eyesight. Problem solving and enhanced creativity.

Reward Pathway

Pathway in brain called mesolimbic dopamine system that controls an individuals responses to natural rewards like food and sex. Activation of pathway stimulates individual to want to repeat the rewarding behavior. Responds to positive social cues such as experiencing humor or seeing a hot guy.

What does research tell us about some positives around YouTube? How about some negatives?

Positives: - 53% say the site is at least somewhat important for helping them understand whats going on in world. - 4/10 users 18-29 yrs. say the site is very important for passing time. Way more than older people. - 87% think its very important for ability to learn how to do new things - Used by variety of age groups. Negatives: - 64% say they encounter videos that seem obviously false or untrue - 60% encounter videos that show people engaging in dangerous or troubling behaviors. - 61% of parents say that they encounter content that was unsuitable for children. - Site's recommendation engine is responsible for for than 70% of users time spent watching videos- younger users are especially likely to follow this algorithm- keeps you online. - Can lead to viral hoaxes that people feed into

What are some behaviors included in the concept of "digital dating abuse"?

Potential for abuse- constant access, monitoring a partner, spreading information instantly. This amplifies offline behaviors- potential to stalk is 247. Girls tend to monitor more while boys are frustrated with this behavior. Boys tend to digitally coerce and girls find this upsetting. Pervasive during adolescence.

What is technopherence and is it an issue for kids?

Problematic tech based interruptions in parent- child interactions. Parents and role modeling raise awareness of issues in digital space. Its an issue bc it can affect parental responsiveness, which is an important predictor of child social emotional outcomes. Study found that moms with problematic phone behavior reported kids with ore behavioral difficulties. Fathers with the same problematic use did not report this.

What are some of the psychological mechanisms at play when we use social media? What are some established psychological theories that connect with social media?

Social Comparison- downward and upward. Need to Belong- Social connectivity. As humans we have a need to belong and connect to one another. We have a frequent need for interactions that take place in stable context. Social media provides this. Attachment theory shows this need of love and belonging. Self Disclosure- Engages our reward system. Self Presentation Impression Management

Studies that show connection between real world and media and brain (in book)

Study found that brains of young adults reacted to positive feedback to posts on Facebook as they would to a gain in reputation in physical world. Study found that self disclosure affects neural regions associated with rewards. Smartphone users have enhanced thumb sensory representation in brain. Shows that brain does react to mobile. Study on neural activity of teens found that their brains reacts to number of likes photo has on instagram. Demonstrates that to teens, social media are similar to the offline social world in that they notice and react to who is popular and not.

Fame

Study on TV shows then and now... values are different: instead of community feeling, benevolence, and tradition we now focus on fame, financial achievement, and success. Preteens were aware of messages about fame on TV and seemed to be applying them to their own lives. Participants valued fame over any other value and used social media to seek audiences beyond their immediate community. Desire for fame positively predicted by people who watched more TV and used social media more... but it wasn't the number 1 value in nationwide survey.

Twenge Article in 60 Minutes

Suicide rates of girls have gone up and anxiety is more prevalent and its happened as the same time as social media rise. Said that this correlational relationships means that smartphones are causing this. Chose variables from huge database to measure her outcomes so it is not accurate! There is a bias towards idea that tech is bad. Remember that every experience changes brain. Change is not necessarily bad. 60 min video uses correlations too much, study with too small sample size, and only a snapshot of longitudinal study.

What are some adolescent developmental tasks and how might they be shaped/ changed by social media? MEMORIZE

Tasks: Loyalty, identity development, friendships, group affiliations, crowd/reputation identities. Connection to social media: Ubiquitous peer presence, demands for immediate response, potential permanence of social acts, image driven messaging, closer observation of wider array of peers, broader self exposure and potential feedback, wider peer access and potential to make friends.

Are there gender differences in time of video game play? What may contribute to this?

Teen boys average 56 min per day playing video games, but only 7 min for girls. Society makes it so that video-games are geared towards boys. Video game play was related to sexism in study, but after controlling for religiocity, gender and SES it wasn't... Girls are worse at spatial skills bc of this! And less into STEM...

Video deficit

To recognize that something on the screen applies to the real world. Transfer deficit- can't transfer learning from screen to real world. Symbolic thinking- realizing image on screen stands for reality. Find the Hidden Toy Study: Participants saw toy being hidden in real life and had to go find it. When they watched the same exact thing in video, they couldn't find it in real life. This was the case UNTIL 2-3 YEARS OLD. Example that learning to build blocks on iPad does not transfer to learning to build blocks in real life. Infants who watched DVD teaching vocab did not learn any more than kids not exposed to video. Those who learned the same words from their parents in natural way actually picked up the vocab.

Prefrontal Cortex

Top front part of brain that manages executive functioning (self control, attention) and exerts control over subcortical parts of our brain (like amygdala). In adolescence, it has not developed fully which is why you cant control emotions and impulses and stuff as well.

Amygdala

Underlying brain structure important for emotional learning, connecting environmental cues with feelings such as fear.

Hebb's Law

Underlying principle regarding the way experiences affect brain development. Neurons, through repeated communication, form networks that govern much of our behavior and cognition.

Why could be some of the effects of marketing to kids in the digital age?

Until age 8 children do not understand advertising's persuasive intent. Young kids cannot distinguish between commercials and program content, even older people sometimes fail to recognize product placement as advertising. Marketers often denigrate adults and exploit older children's desires to fit in with peers and rebel against authority as selling point.

What are the some of the factors that differentiate video game play -- are all games equal?

Video Games- Minecraft, disney infinity Computer Games- Starcraft, sims Mobile Games- candy crush, angry birds Social, non-social, shooter, internet, puzzle...

Mechanisms in early learning that might affect learning from video (joint attention, gaze following)

Video and transfer deficit. Gaze following- you look somewhere and the kid looks that way too. Its something important they learn, but cant learn from TV. Joint attention- Pointing and asking question leads to this, because it directs attention to things. Video itself does not interact with kids. Social cues missing from TV impair learning in young viewers so providing those views and contingent responsiveness (interaction) can help them learn. Sesame Street does a good job. Responsive attention is effective- video chatting allows for real time social interaction.

How do smartphones affect cognition - attention, delay of gratification?

We have a finite capacity for cognitive processing, our attentional resources are limited. Seeing a phone can affect cognitive performance, forced seperation from a vibrating phone can increase heart rate and cause anxiety, phantom phone vibration well documented, phone being on and face up affected performance on task. Attention: Focused attention refers to the capacity to attend to only one source of information while ignoring other incoming stimuli. Research finds that the mere presence of a phone is distracting enough to affect cognitive functioning, only during demanding tasks. Evidence. Memory: Expectation of having later access to information can make us less inclined to encode and store that information in long term memory. Tendency to rely on simple heuristics and mental shortcuts extends to the habitual use to internet search engines as a substitute for deep cognitive analysis. Taking pics diminished memory for observed objects. People recall the time and folder in which relevant information was located instead of the info itself. GPS navigation systems which are now integrated into smartphone devices interferes with our natural tendency to develop cognitive spatial representations. Writing notes vs typing tends to improve comprehension. Delay of Gratification: Emotional gratifications may be driving media interactions at an unconscious level. Individuals who were heavier users of mobile tech were more apt to accept small immediate reward! Heavy smartphone usage can casually reduce an individuals capacity to delay gratification. Study shows that even when people are successful at maintaining sustained attention, as when avoiding temptation to check their phones, the mere PRESENCE of these devices REDUCES AVAILABLE COGNITIVE CAPACITY.

What do we know definitively about violent video game play and aggressive behavior?

Well studied, but there is no conclusion because they mainly focus on short term impact of playing these games. Propensity study analyses tests whether there is a causal link- looked at 8th graders and found no relationships. Some studies show negative effects and others show no effect... it could be that aggressive people are just drawn to more aggressive games.

How does social comparison play out on social media and affect adolescents? Are all adolescents affected the same? What are some individual differences that might contribute to how a teen is affected?

What teens see on social media can become a personal ruler with quantifiable social endorsement, and trying to measure up can bring them down. Altered images, representations of perfection, focus on superficial, highly visible sexual images, insta judgement, and social media available 247 have a huge effect on social comparison. Study found that PASSIVE social media use (social browsing, lurking) has possible worse effects than active engagement. People with heightened sensitivity to upward comparison have potential for 247 social browsing. Teens who engage in more negative comparison felt worse and felt profiles were more accurate. Those who are depressed say they have increased responses to social media- positive and negative. Social media is more important and impactful.

Correlation versus causation - what it means and why it is important for media effects research

What two things correlate, it does not necessarily mean that one causes the other. There can be a third factor that affects both of them... we need analyze these studies with caution because there is no control. Seek underlying variables that also contribute to relationship and try to find experimental data.

What were the most frequently recommended videos from the YouTube algorithms?

YouTube recommendation engine attempts to customize its suggestions based on an individuals prior activity and browsing behavior. 28% of the unique videos in this dataset were recommended multiple times. The recommended videos got longer and more popular. Music videos, TV competitions, and children's content made up a large share of the 50 most shared videos.

Mobile Tech and young kids, changes in the last decade:

Young kids spend more hours on media every day, almost double than past. Mostly TV and videos for teens... 8.5 hours total. Access to mobile devices are nearly universal. Such a huge increase from past... most homes have a mobile device, smartphone, and tablet in the home. 42% kids younger than 8 have their own tablet.

How do teens use tech for health seeking behavior?

Young people who report symptoms of depression are using digital tools to learn about and help address their problems. They use tech for health information online, mobile apps related to health, people's stories online, people with similar concerns online, connect with online health providers. Topics include fitness, nutrition, stress, anxiety, and depression. Many people with depression report going online for info and help addressing their problems. Teens and young adults are far more likely to report frequently receiving positive than negative feedback on social media. No statistically significant association between depressive symptoms and whether respondents reported engaging in more active or passive behaviors on social media.