(STUDY FINDS) — BATH, England — It’s increasingly common these days for the parents of young children and toddlers to have concerns about introducing their kids to modern smartphones, tablets, and other touchscreen devices. Surprisingly, however, a new study finds all that screen time may actually be beneficial for certain aspects of toddlers’ attention spans and ability to block out distractions.
In an experiment, toddlers who had used touchscreen devices more often were much faster at picking out targeted objects that stood out visually.
The study’s authors, a team of researchers from the University of Bath, believe their findings provide a much needed different perspective when it comes to the use of modern technology and young children. Doctors, parents, and pundits typically believe these gadgets only serve to harm children’s development. The research team, however, says there really isn’t all that much scientific evidence to support that stance.
