GoodWork Paper 51: Developing Minds with Digital Media: Habits of Mind in the YouTube Era

Author(s): Margaret Weigel, Katie Heikkinen

Editor(s): Howard Gardner, Series Editor

Media: Paper

Description: Children, it seems, are born these days consuming media. More children are being exposed to more new digital media (NDM) at younger ages than ever before. According to a 2005 study by the Kaiser Family Foundation, 48% of American children six and under were active computer users, 91% watched TV, and 89% watched videos or DVDs (Rideout, 2003). Research also indicates that by age 7, many of these young computer users are active users on networked gaming sites ("Club Penguin-FAQs,” http://www.clubpenguin.com/help/frequently_asked_questions.html). By the time s/he reaches the age of 18, the average American youngster is consuming a varied diet of media, from TV and DVDs to podcasts, producing some media work of his or her own, and using technologies like texting and social networking sites to stay in touch with friends and family. A Kaiser Family Foundation study from 1999 states that, “[l]iterally, hundreds of empirical studies conducted over the past half century leave little doubt that, given exposure, media content can and does influence youngster‘s beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors” (Roberts, 1999). There is the sense that children are maturing faster, and achieving more at younger ages. Is this phenomenon related to NDM? This is the first of three GoodWork® papers on new digital media, cognition, and development. Together, these three papers provide a comprehensive perspective on cognition and social behaviors in relation to new digital media.