What happens inside a baby’s brain when looking at screens
A study by NUS Medicine and A*STAR is investigating 'technoference,' the phenomenon where parental screen use disrupts the emotional connection with infants. Experiments show that babies experience distress and agitation when caregivers shift their attention to mobile devices.
Why it matters
As digital devices become ubiquitous, understanding their impact on early childhood social and cognitive development is critical for public health and parenting guidance.
What happens inside a baby’s brain when looking at screens? S’pore study shows the impact By
Tan Yin Ling and her baby, eight-month-old Raynera, are taking part in an experiment at NUS Medicine , where their brain activity is detected using the equipment they wear on their heads.
Raynera sits face to face with her mother.
Tan smiles, makes faces and plays peek-a-boo with Raynera.
There is a beautiful rhythm to their interaction, a back-and-forth response that looks almost like a dance.
Then, under the instructions of NUS Medicine clinician scientist Evelyn Law , who is conducting the experiment, Tan turns away briefly.
When she faces her daughter again, she is holding her phone, head down and absorbed in reading an e-mail on her phone.
She does not smile and does not react to anything that Raynera does.
Within seconds, baby Raynera senses the change.
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