With more classroom activity going digital and smartphone use increasing at home, kids are spending a large amount of time in front of screens. Too much screen time may be detrimental to students, a recent study from the University of California, Los Angeles found.

According to a story by Juana Summers in NPR's NPREd blog, the UCLA study suggests that sitting in front of screens too much could perhaps impair students' abilities to recognize emotions. Researchers found that "sixth-graders who went five days without exposure to technology were significantly better at reading human emotions than those students who had regular access to phones, televisions, and computers."

Study subjects were divided into kids who either went to camp and had zero ability to use electronic devices or kids who stayed home and experienced no limitations on their screen time.
 

At the beginning and end of the five-day study period, both groups of kids were shown images of nearly 50 faces and asked to identify the feelings being modeled. Researchers found that the students who went to camp scored significantly higher when it came to reading facial emotions or other nonverbal cues than the students who continued to have access to their media devices.

The study was published in the October issue of the journal Computer in Human Behavior. While one small study does not mean that parents and educators need to readjust screen time limits for kids, all adults may want to question whether or not the children in their lives are getting enough time interacting one on one. After all, it's always good to know that someone understands the emotions behind spoken words.

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Article by Kassondra Granata, EducationWorld Contributor