Experts wonder whether parents should limit gadgets for their kids

Are American children losing the ability to concentrate when they are exposed to more than eight hours of TV, video games, computers and other media per day — often simultaneously?

Are their developing brains becoming hard-wired to “multitask lite” rather than learn the focused critical thinking required to make smart decisions in an increasingly complex society?

A Kaiser Family Foundation media study released recently raises these potentially troubling questions, says educational psychologist David Walsh of the National Institute on Media and the Family, a Minneapolis nonprofit. Even more troubling is the answer: We don’t know, Walsh and other experts in the field say.

Teachers and school psychologists notice that more kids than ever won’t sit still. “I hear it all the time,” says Walsh, who does more than 150 workshops on media a year for parents and educators. “It’s become harder over the last 10 years to keep kids’ attention. The expectation is to be constantly entertained and, if they’re not entertained, they quickly lose interest.”

Studies with college students and adults show that the brain doesn’t work as well when it focuses on more than one task, Walsh says. If the challenge demands a lot of attention, mental performance is particularly poor. But he says there are no such studies on today’s kids as they multitask with new media, such as listening to an iPod and instant messaging with friends while doing homework.

Some evidence suggests that children’s brains might be changing so they can juggle and concentrate better than their elders.

Scores on intelligence tests have been steadily rising since the 1940s, says University of Utah neuropsychologist Sam Goldstein. The tests measure a child’s ability to shift and divide attention, but they also cover problem-solving and comprehension skills. “They’re smarter,” Goldstein says.

Another germane fact: In the Kaiser study, computer use and television didn’t seem to affect grades, but more time playing video games and less time reading were linked to poorer grades. About half of kids have a video game console in their rooms; more than two-thirds have TV sets.

Violent video games and TV have been shown to encourage aggressive behavior, says Michael Rich, a Harvard pediatrician and director of the Center on Media and Child Health in Boston. Also, the more TV watched, the more overweight a kid is likely to be, he says.

Very large studies on the question are needed, Goldstein says. Meanwhile, kids are growing up.

“Our society isn’t driven by finding out what we don’t know; it’s driven by the dollar. If it sells and doesn’t kill anybody the first week, nobody takes a closer look,” he says.

We need the studies, but parents need to step up with more than rules alone, Goldstein emphasizes.

“The solution isn’t to build taller walls and stronger locks to keep the world away, but to teach children how to make good choices.”