Researchers to study information technology impact on children

Michigan State University researchers will use a $750,000 grant from the National Science Foundation to better understand the nature and extent of children's information technology (IT) use and how using IT is affecting them.

The Children and Technology Project is a research project designed to determine the consequences of using IT on children’s cognitive, social, psychological and moral development.

Specifically, the project will examine whether using IT, particularly the Internet and video games, influences cognitive outcomes, such as visual skills, grade point average or scores on standardized achievement tests; social interaction, such as relationships with friends and family; issues of psychological well-being, such as self-esteem and self-concept; and moral development − reasoning about “right and wrong” in both the virtual and physical world.

Linda A. Jackson, professor of psychology at MSU, is the project’s principal investigator. Co-investigators, all MSU faculty, are Yong Zhao, a professor in the Department of Technology in Teaching and Learning and director of the Center for Teaching and Technology; Hiram Fitzgerald, University Distinguished Professor of psychology and assistant provost for University Outreach and Engagement; Alexander von Eye, professor of psychology; and Rena Harold, professor in the School of Social Work.

“Children are spending more and more time using information technology,” Jackson said.“The Internet, cell phones, instant messaging and video games now occupy huge segments of children’s everyday lives. Yet very little is known about how using IT is affecting them.

“Does using IT help or hurt children? Are some kinds of IT better than others?Do characteristics of the child influence whether IT use is helpful or harmful? are some of the questions that need to be addressed,” she said.

Among the other questions the project will address are:

• Does using the Internet help children to do better in school, as so many advocates of Internet use have claimed?
• Does playing video games improve children’s visual-spatial skills, or increase their aggressive behavior, as some studies suggest?
• Does the ease with which stealing and cheating can occur in the virtual world, for example, by copying a Web page and pasting it into a school report, influence the ease with which children will steal and cheat in the “real world?”

The Children and Technology Project will involve the participation of 1,200 seventh-grade children, their parents and teachers throughout Michigan. All will be asked to complete surveys twice yearly, in the fall and spring, for three years, beginning this fall. In addition, a subset of 600 children will participate in an after-school study focused on Internet use and computer games. These children will spend several hours a week in a technology-rich after-school setting during Year 2 of the project.

“The purpose of the project is to better understand the nature and extent of children’s IT use and how using IT is affecting them,” Jackson said. “Such understanding is critical in making informed decisions about how IT should be used in the schools to benefit all aspects of children’s development − cognitive, social, psychological and moral.

“To date efforts to integrate IT into the educational system have been based on assumptions about its benefits,” she added.“It is time for a more systematic investigation of the effects of IT use and the conditions under which assumed benefits are most likely to be realized.”