Attention Problems in Children Linked to TV and Video Games

A new study just out in this month's issue of Pediatrics finds children who spent more than three hours watching TV or playing video games were significantly more likely to have attention problems.

Iowa State University psychology doctoral student Edward Swing and Associate Professor of Psychology Douglas Gentile studied video game and television exposure of 1323 third, fourth, and fifth graders over a 13-month period, as well as 210 college students. TV exposure and video gaming for the middle childhood group was reported by parents and children, and attention issues were reported by teachers. College students provided self-reports of TV viewing, video game play, and perceived attention problems. The ISU researchers found that children who exceeded the two hours per day of screen time recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics were 1.5 to 2 times more likely to be above average in attention problems; college students showed a similar association, suggesting that TV exposure or video gaming may have lasting consequences.

According to Swing, "It is still not clear why screen media may increase attention problems, but many researchers speculate that it may be due to rapid-pacing, or the natural attention grabbing aspects that television and video games use."

Gentile reports that the pace of television programming has been quickened by "the MTV effect."

"When MTV came on, it started showing music videos that had very quick edits -- cuts once every second or two," Gentile said. "Consequently, the pacing of other television and films sped up too, with much quicker edits."

He says that quicker pace may have some brain-changing effects when it comes to attention span.

"Brain science demonstrates that the brain becomes what the brain does," Gentile said. "If we train the brain to require constant stimulation and constant flickering lights, changes in sound and camera angle, or immediate feedback, such as video games can provide, then when the child lands in the classroom where the teacher doesn't have a million-dollar-per-episode budget, it may be hard to get children to sustain their attention."

The study showed that the effect was similar in magnitude between video games and TV viewing.

TV, video games may contribute to ADHD
Based on the study's findings, Swing and Gentile conclude that TV and video game viewing may be one contributing factor for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in children.

"ADHD is a medical condition, but it's a brain condition," Gentile said. "We know that the brain adapts and changes based on the environmental stimuli to which it is exposed repeatedly. Therefore, it is not unreasonable to believe that environmental stimuli can increase the risk for a medical condition like ADHD in the same way that environmental stimuli, like cigarettes, can increase the risk for cancer."

"Although we did not specifically study the medical condition of ADHD in these studies, we did focus on the kinds of attention problems that are experienced by students with ADHD," added Swing. "We were surprised, for example, that attention problems in the classroom would increase in just one year for those children with the highest screen time." (for full story see ISU News Service.

The report appears in the August issue of Pediatrics