Unfortunately, research shows some negative results about such addiction to media. "47 percent of the heaviest media users — those who consumed at least 16 hours a day — had mostly C’s or lower, compared with 23 percent of those who typically consumed media three hours a day or less". Of course, we don't know whether media use causes academic troubles or academic troubles turn the kids to heavy media use, as suggested by NYT.
Another possibility is that there may be something wrong with the current education so that it can't attract the attention of some kids and recognize the potential and value of these kids. These kids, who might turn into some very creative people some day, end up being addicted to online media use.
Researchers of youth literacy have demonstrated the incompatibility between institutional education and web media use[1]. Almon, a "loser" in high school, became a confident, popular guy in his online J-Pop community. He used to feel inferior to other students because of his poor English grades and strong Chinese accent. But since he developed a webpage featuring his favorite Japanese singer and joined the online J-Pop community, his writing ability in English improved dramatically and he is proud of expressing himself in English.
Sadly, this achievement in the virtual world does not guarantee a good academic performance in school or popularity in the real world. This warns us maybe the current education fails to fully recognize people's potentials and values. Maybe the education is not ready to prepare kids for the age of digital media which is already part of children's real world.
The link between academic failure and success in / addiction to online media use also raises serious thoughts about the zest towards the use of digital media as education tools. As Katie said, maybe it's a bad culture. Maybe we, as educators, should not leave the kids addicted even more to the digital media.
[1] Lam, W.S. E. & Kramsch, C. (2003). The Ecology of an SLA Community in Computer-Mediated Environments in Leather, J. & J. van Dam (eds.), Ecology of Language Acquisition. Dordrecht, The Netherlands: Kluwer Publishers.
Looks like an interesting article, Jinjing! It seems to me that the Internt & the rise of digital media is a force that can't (and won't) be ignored, so I would like to see educational institutions invest even MORE in the technology hardware and software that make possible the inclusion of technology in lessons. For example, the University of Arizona does not have NEARLY enough smart classrooms. I know there are massive budget issues in the state right now, but if we want to stay current and competitive, universities and K-12 instutitions will have to put the money where the rhetoric is when it comes to instructional technology. It really shows you where are nation's priorities TRULY lie when trying to get a laptop and projector in a classroom is as complicated as the space shuttle launch (exaggeration, can't help myself!)
ReplyDeleteJinjing--that is an interesting article! I was surprised that the people who conducted the study thought media use couldn't possibly increase over the levels found in the previous study, but it did. That makes me wonder about how much it will continue to change and grow. I also thought it was interesting that the study considered kids as young as 3. I wonder about parents setting more limits on how/when kids use media. When I grew up, we had only one TV in the house (none in the bedrooms) and could only watch an hour a day. Those limits might be unrealistic now, but it always bothers me to see teens who are with real, live people, but doing nothing with them because they are too plugged in to phones or other technology. Maybe I'm just too old-fashioned to understand!
ReplyDeleteBut, the article also shows what Katie commented on--the need for educators to find a way to tap into this area and stay current. That's why I'm in the class, because I need a little help to make that happen in my own teaching.
Interesting find, Jinjing. I think your observation about 'academic success' is very relevant here, that if academia valued information and other digital literacies more, tests would reflect that, and students who had developed it would do better on tests. So the question is, are we measuring what tradition says is 'academic' and therefore 'literacy', or is literacy a moving (and evolving) target?
ReplyDeletePerhaps neither educators nor those internet addicted children haven't figured out the way to live a productive life in this half-virtual and half-real world, where both online, distant communication and face-to-face communication with people around are part of our life, where intangible digital media is mixed with tangible media (e.g. digital texts & printed texts). We are still trying to find the balance.
ReplyDeleteThe authors of the study admit that their results are inconclusive about which comes first, the troubled youth or the youth as heavy media users who report a higher degree of sadness and depression and are most represented by Black and Hispanic populations. We don't know where these 2000 kids who they surveyed live, other than the Bronx, and I can think of a lot worse for the kids to get into than media while living in the Bronx in their youth. We don't have the actual study that may reveal more complete information. We do have a "media" newspaper story that can slant information any way the authors want, and that, for me, is something to consider.
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