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Scientists pour cold water on argues phones are rewiring kids' brains
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MPs told that while concerns over handsets and social media grows, evidence they're changing children's brains is limited.
Key facts
- When questioned about social media's impact on adolescents, Professor Sarah-Jayne Blakemore of the University of Cambridge was equally cautious
- Asked what evidence exists on the impact of digital devices on infants and young children, Professor Denis Mareschal, director of the Centre for Brain and Cognitive Development at Birkbeck, replied
- For Dr Dusana Dorjee, a senior lecturer in psychology in education at the University of York, the bigger concern was displacement
- AI companions also got their turn in the hot seat, and the answers were even fuzzier than they were for social media
Summary
MPs looking for proof that smartphones and social media are rotting children's brains got a less satisfying answer from neuroscientists on Wednesday: nobody can prove it. Appearing before the Science, Innovation and Technology Committee this week, three researchers spent much of the session explaining that concern and evidence are not the same thing. Asked what evidence exists on the impact of digital devices on infants and young children, Professor Denis Mareschal, director of the Centre for Brain and Cognitive Development at Birkbeck, replied: "There is little, if any, causal research in the early years. MPs kept coming back to the question, and the experts kept coming back to the same answer.