The psychological and biological health effects of wireless technology on children is widely known: less intelligent children, increased ADHD, anxiety, depression, autism and cancer, caused by long screen time and microwave radiation exposure [1, 2, 3]. At Hamptons Discovery in the USA, Dr Kardaras, a former Clinical Professor at Stony Brook Medicine, now treats adolescents with such disorders, health problems and addictions, found that the strength of addiction to wireless devices and computers is worse than drug addiction to cure. He points to over 200 peer-reviewed published studies showing a correlation to increased ADHD, addiction, aggression, depression, anxiety and psychosis [4]. He recommends that children should not be exposed to these modern technologies until at least 10 years old [5].
Why do we have this technology in the classroom, given the widely recognised damaging physical and mental health effects on our children? It’s a case of follow the money. It’s estimated that school technology sales will amount to nearly US$60 billion by 2018 [6]. Cisco and other technology companies first got together in 2002 to work out how to find their new customer base: schoolchildren, and how to sell to schools. The key to the success of their sales mission was the acceptance by governments that the technology could only be delivered via Wi-Fi onto wireless devices [7]. There is nothing educational in the push for technology in schools; it has only ever been driven by money.
Some teachers are speaking out about this. The head of Sydney’s Grammar School has spoken out on the negative effect laptops and iPads have in the classroom and the disruption to learning and education that results. These negative effects result in students losing the ability to hold a conversation which is a key to the development of the brain. He also states: “Allowing children to lose that capacity to express themselves by writing is a very dangerous thing,’’ [8]. A global study by the OECD found in Australia that long computer time, especially internet use, reduces children’s reading ages, and Australia has more computers per child than anywhere in the world [9]. Computers and the internet in classrooms are making our children less intelligent and unwell.
It is recognised that physically using paper and pen or pencil to write, rather than type on a keyboard, is vital to short term memory recall and conceptual understanding. Students get better grades at university if they write long-hand on paper because they engage parts of their brain that conceptualise and summarise the words from the lecturer in a way that makes sense to them, building on what they know already [10]. Indeed, what geniuses in history have in common is hand-written volumes of books, notes, music and drawings; these are the tools they use [11].
Given that children globally using computers most often in school are getting poorer results than children who use this technology sparingly [9], it is time for teachers and parents to educate themselves and their children to be less dependent upon computers and the internet as an excuse for teaching a class or entertaining a child and to encourage children to go out and enjoy the natural world more, especially to learn about Mother Earth just by being there [12].
The subject of improving your brain performance via your gut’s health is a major topic of the 21st International “New Scientific Outlook” Congress of The World Foundation for Natural Science, held in Ulm, Germany, from 3 – 6 November 2016. As part of this, participants will be learning and practicing Win Wenger’s incredible ‘Image Streaming’ techniques [11], a unique opportunity not to be missed, to bring forth the genius in us all.
References:
[1] Detailed overview of health risks of microwave radiation:
The World Foundation for Natural Science, “The Danger of Microwave Technology”, an interview with Barrie Trower (April 2015), https://www.naturalscience.org/publications/the-danger-of-microwave-technology/
[2] Modern technology causing cancer in children:
Sarah Knapton, “Modern life is killing our children: Cancer rate in young people up 40 per cent in 16 years”, The Daily Telegraph, 3 September 2016, http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/2016/09/03/modern-life-is-killing-our-children-cancer-rate-in-young-people/
[3] Girls growing more unhappy because of social media pressure:
The Children’s Society, “The Good Childhood Report 2016”, http://www.childrenssociety.org.uk/what-we-do/research/the-good-childhood-report
[4] 200 peer-reviewed papers:
Dr Nicholas Kardaras, “Screens in Schools are a $60 Billion Hoax”, TIME, August 31 2016, http://time.com/4474496/screens-schools-hoax/
[5] Dr Nicholas Kardaras (2016), Glow Kids: How Screen Addiction Is Hijacking Our Kids-and How to Break the Trance, St Martin’s Press
[6] Research and Markets: Global Education Technology and the Smart Classroom Market Report: 2013 Edition, published online August 23, 2013: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20130823005350/en/Research-Markets-Global-Education-Technology-Smart-Classroom
[7] Tech companies targeting schools and school children as new customer base. This comes from Frank Clegg, former CEO of Microsoft Canada, an insider in the technology industry at the highest levels, who is now the head of C4ST – Canadians for Safe Technology:
Frank Clegg, “INVISIBLE THREAT: The Link Between Wireless Radiation and a Host of Serious Illnesses”, Vitality Magazine, Feb 1st 2014, see footnote 15, http://vitalitymagazine.com/article/invisible-threat/
[8] Dr John Vallance, head of Sydney Grammar School, interviewed in The Australian, March 26 2016, “Computers in class ‘a scandalous waste’: Sydney Grammar head”,
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/education/computers-in-class-a-scandalous-waste-sydney-grammar-head/news-story/b6de07e63157c98db9974cedd6daa503
[9] The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), “Students, Computers and Learning: making the connection”, September 15 2015, http://www.oecd.org/education/students-computers-and-learning-9789264239555-en.htm
[10] Pam Mueller and Daniel Oppenheimer, “The Pen Is Mightier Than the Keyboard Advantages of Longhand Over Laptop Note Taking”, Psychological Science June 2014 vol. 25 no. 6 1159-1168
[11] Win Wenger (2002), The Einstein Factor, Three Valleys Press.
[12] Children and Mother Earth:
Amy Novotny (2008), “Getting back to the great outdoors”, Monitor on Psychology published by the American Psychological Association, March 2008, Vol 39, No. 3, p52, http://www.apa.org/monitor/2008/03/outdoors.aspx