Speaker Heiser Unpacks Digital Addiction
Montana State University senior lecturer Shawna Heiser spoke to area schoolchildren, teachers and parents during two assemblies in Culbertson on Monday, Sept. 29.
She addressed students about digital addiction and the detrimental impacts of screens and electronic media on brain development.
“It is alarming information, but needs to be shared,” Culbertson Public School Superintendent Nicole Simonsen told the Community News.
After introducing Heiser, Simonsen told the audience that changes to policies restricting the use of electronic devices like smartphones in schools may be coming, based on trends in nearby North Dakota schools and information gathering efforts in the Montana State Legislature.
Heiser, who has family roots in the area, told Culbertson grades 6-12 that recent research has shown alarming decreases in white matter in the brain due to excessive exposure to screens. She said that brains in those affected appear to be shrinking in a way that is similar to Alzheimer’s disease and other causes of dementia.
Heiser spoke generally about the profusion of screens and media and said that boundaries and limitations with devices are becoming critically important.
“We’re fighting a losing battle here,” Heiser said. “That’s why North Dakota said, ‘we’re not doing it anymore.’” She recommended planning activities without screens, like sports and/or playing outside, and said that turning screens off at least an hour before bed is a crucial part of proper sleep regimen. She
Heiser
Montana State University Senior Lecturer Shawna Heiser spoke to grades 6-12 during an assembly about the dangers of digital addiction Sept. 29 in Culbertson.
(Photo by James Walling)
also recommended daily and weekend limits on screen time generally and said that eye exercises with an emphasis on looking at objects at a distance of more than 20 feet from your screens periodically can help mitigate negative affects.
Heiser spoke to younger students in the elementary gym during a second assembly on Monday. Her specialty at UM is behavioral and applied psychology.
For more information about Heiser and her research, write to sheiser@montana.edu or call 406994-4931.
