Child Psychology, Screen Time and Limitations

Cartoons have been a part of film history since the first films were made in the late 1800s. A cartoon is a movie made using animation instead of live actors, especially a humorous film intended for children. Cartooning can also be described as making movies by filming a series of slightly varying drawings or models so that they appear to move and change when the series is shown. Factors that shape children’s way of thinking are mainly found in the environment where they grow up.

These elements keep viewers (mainly children) glued to their seats. It includes daily events, unforgettable experiences and highlights. Cartoons are one of the daily habits of our children; studies have proven that an average child with the facility of a TV and a satellite connection at home watches about 18,000 hours of television from kindergarten to high school graduation.
Now the question that arises is how our children’s brains absorb and analyze information in the first place. How does this experience affect our children’s minds? What type of content is delivered to our children in a cartoon-like program?
Since its advent, studies have been carried out, and social learning theories have emphasized overt reinforcement, punishment or observational learning. Children’s understanding of the world arises from their involvement and interactions (Piaget & Inhaler, 1962). Lev Vygotsky’s (1978) socio-cultural theory maintained that children’s knowledge is socially constructed.
Cognitive development theories focus on how children learn. Children’s learning of their culture’s values, beliefs and problem-solving strategies is in response to social interaction with more knowledgeable members of society. This set of theories points to the importance of the environment and nurture in a child’s growth.
Skinner (1953) introduced the term ‘operant conditioning’ to describe that learning occurs as a result of the organism responding to, or operating on, its environment.
John Watson (1928) saw children as passive beings who, like clay, can be molded. Children tend to be selective in what they imitate and are more eager to imitate a behavior if it leads to outcomes they value.
Albert Bandura believed that children learn through observation and imitation. They were instrumental in the development of education policies and helped lay the foundation for early intervention programs such as Head Start.
The need to understand if the animation creates the right juxtaposition. It should be remembered that appropriate visual sight and interpretation is a requirement because cartoons will also contribute to the various goals such as the development of students to understand and explain skills, which are part of their mother tongue development, improvement of their perceived level , problem solving, creative thinking, and decision making skills, observational skills. If children’s curiosity is supported by the cartoons suitable for their intellectual and emotional development, their real world understanding will be enriched and individuals who can communicate effectively in the future will be raised.
Channels like US-based Cocomelon are some of the most popular and top-grossing channels on YouTube, with millions of followers and billions of views. According to a recent CashNetUSA analysis, the most profitable channels across five of the six continents were those that produced material for children.
Digital media technological improvements can create environments that are more and more defined by constant unique and rapid stimulations that open the dopamine and reward pathways. Young developing brains may exhibit increased sensation/novelty-seeking behavior as a result of such activation, which is behaviorally similar to signs of ADHD1 (Weiss et al., 2011). Sensation/novelty seeking is also linked to the degree of addictive behavior together with boredom susceptibility2,3 (Olsen, 2011; Wen et al., 2015). In addition, because cell phones are young people’s device of choice, they are more likely to have access to video games and social networks, increasing the risk of screen addiction.

The clinical picture caused by too much screen time

The complexity of screen time impacts is further highlighted by descriptions of the clinical picture resulting from excessive screen use 1011. (Dunckley, 2015; Bentley, 2016). A young man may exhibit physical aches, pains, and facial or vocal tics, as well as a decreased physiological acclimatization to typical circumstances. Oversleeping or difficulty waking up even after apparently having enough sleep are possible additional symptoms. Anger and meltdowns can be emotional symptoms. A young man can also react in a rebellious and oppositional way because they are more sensitive to frustrations. The youngster may also show anxiety in situations involving separation, be generally fearful and report having nightmares. Other common symptoms include depressed mood, isolated, withdrawn, and low-energy behavior, as well as OCD-like behavior.

What can be done

Parents sometimes struggle to independently recognize that a child’s screen time can play a significant role in the development of physical and behavioral issues. A child’s presentation of seemingly unrelated symptoms can create a complex clinical picture, making it difficult for parents to understand the child’s situation and determine what form of treatment would be most beneficial (Dunckley, 2015). As a result, parents may not view their children’s symptoms as requiring any kind of medical attention. Clinicians who are not aware of the negative consequences of screen use may be confused by the complex clinical picture. As a result, if a screen-related intervention is not included, parents may refer their child to a treatment that may not be necessary or effective enough.
Using both digital media and direct face-to-face contact, including role-playing exercises, a “screen time habit modification” program can take on a primarily experiential element. Such a program should have a strong emphasis on exploring how social media and video games can be addictive. When focusing on video game addiction, program activities should provide opportunities to compare the distinction between real, tangible reality and virtual reality; learning emotional detachment from a game avatar; and create a better perception of the physical self-image through body awareness and meditation practices. Managing real and artificial negative social feedback and their impact on the notion of self-esteem should be the main themes of discussion while attempting to reduce social network addiction.
It is essential to include an examination of non-judgmental awareness and compassion, as opposed to a bully mentality13 (Foody & Samara, 2017). The intersection of body image and pornography, as well as self-exposure vs. privacy, needs to be discussed. In general, these activities are intended to teach participants how to cope with interpersonal pressure and loneliness14 (Parsons et al., 2017); how to deal with boredom; and how to turn downtime into creative time. A program should ultimately work towards developing a sense of self and self-worth that is not just based on technology. The program should teach parents how to use digital media responsibly at home. Beyond the limits of this discussion, a more thorough description of the software is not possible.

A New Perspective (Digital Learning of Amusement)

Kahoot! is a game-based student response system (GSRS) where the classroom is temporarily transformed into a game show where the teacher is the game show host, and the students are the contenders (Wang, 2015). Kahoot! is a game-based learning platform used to review student knowledge, for formative assessment or as a break from traditional classroom activities. It is one of the most popular game-based learning platforms, with 70 million monthly active unique users and is used by 50% of US K-12 students.

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