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(co-written with Dr. Wendy Bower of SUNY New Paltz's Communication Disorders department)
If you follow this blog, then you know that a core theme found here pertains to the notion of “evolutionary mismatch” - or of the idea that many of the features of modern life, such as couches, Doritos, and large-scale politics may well pose problems for members of our species - whose psychological systems evolved largely under pre-agrarian, nomadic conditions (see Geher, 2014).
This said, modern technologies simply cannot be all bad! As a case-in-point, consider the recent work of Wendy Bower of SUNY New Paltz’s Communication Disorders department. Wendy’s recently defended doctoral dissertation conducted at the University at Albany ultimately tells a story of promise when it comes to one of the most evolutionarily unnatural features of our modern world: texting!
After hearing about this work at a recent event that was part of the Without Limits program sponsored by our College of LIberal Arts and Sciences, focusing on the nature of screens in our modern lives, I (GG) approached Wendy about co-writing this blog. We hope the product provides some insights into the interface of modern technology, human evolution, and social-communication disorders.
Social Communication in Humans
We know that the impetus for infants to communicate or interact with other human beings comes from the ways in which their brains are hard-wired. Biases within the sensory systems help babies tune-in to the human voice and the human face. Through verbal interactions, the infant will develop the motivation and reinforcement needed to continue to be interested in speech.
According to a 2010 report by the Kaiser Family Foundation, 74% of infants and toddlers watch television before the age of 2. The recent upsurge in on-demand services, cable kid-channels, and new baby-oriented programming, guarantees constant access to media formats that specifically targets very young children.
Much research suggests that for kids under 2, TV has little educational value (Hill, 2012). The most rapid period of brain development and language acquisition takes place before age 3 and this development is dependent upon direct exposure to external stimulation that is interactive in the context of real-world experience.
The primary way that children learn is through verbal interaction that technology cannot duplicate (Al-Harbi, 2015). As such, in terms of evolutionary mismatch, on the surface it seems like communication via email, Twitter, Instagram, etc., is just unnatural and must surely have psychological liabilities. And, admittedly, the “caveman-esque” nature of Darwin’s Subterranean World often paints the modern world in such ways. But you know, sometimes novel technologies can actually be a good thing ...
The use of electronic screen-based media appears to be a particularly relevant type of discretionary activity for children with autism spectrum disorders. Children with ASD have been shown to have a strong preference for electronic entertainment tools particularly television and video games (Mazurek & Wenstrup, 2013). This would suggest an advantage for the increased use of video and computer based learning applications for autism intervention.
In addition, for kids with social communication disorders, technologies other than video games may be really beneficial. Social communication disorder (SCD) is a relatively new diagnosis included in the Fifth Edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5, 2013) by the American Psychiatric Association. This diagnostic category was recently added to recognize individuals who have significant problems in using verbal and nonverbal communication in social interactions but who are not diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder or intellectual deficit. The disorder is characterized by impairments in using communication to form social relationships. Anecdotal reports indicate that individuals with both SCD and autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are often preoccupied with television, computers, and video games (screen-based media), however, few studies have examined this issue extensively. The primary purpose of my (WB’s) recently completed dissertation was to explore this issue - do kids diagnosed with ASD perhaps benefit from such evolutionarily novel communication-based technologies as texting?
My findings suggest that adolescents with social communication disorders show communicative competencies in texting that do not appear in face-to-face conversations. The adolescents studied effectively used text messaging as a medium for maintaining social relationships, and all participants relayed that their friendships and social connections are enhanced when they have access to friends via phone. The adolescents in this study used diverse language styles to communicate with different people and instances of creative language found throughout their texting bodes well for these adolescents diagnosed with SCD, as success in this context may further encourage other forms of both written and verbal language use. If the creative nature of the texting sphere is exploited, and individuals with pragmatic disorders show communicative competence in this medium, we need to redefine competence and recognize more instances of appropriate communication with peers, thus expanding the social networking of these individuals in meaningful ways (Bower, 2015).
As this recent study demonstrates, for many young people, social media may actually have positive social-behavioral effects. From this perspective, these new technologies are not isolating, but in fact, they may supplement and extend traditional forms of peer contact (see: https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/darwins-subterranean-world/201602/instagram-and-the-development-social-skills). And based on the research presented here, it looks like such technologies may be particularly beneficial for the growing and often-hard-to-reach population of kids who diagnosed with ASD.
Such kids frequently form peer and friendship networks in part through online or other technology-mediated engagements, such as smartphones, text messaging, email, Instagram, etc.
Bottom Line
So next time you see a teen texting at the dinner table or at a restaurant or in the bathroom stall … etc. … don’t let it drive you nuts. Remember that many emergent technologies, even if fraught with liabilities and evolutionarily mismatches, have an upshot. Autism Spectrum Disorders have shown marked increases in prevalence of late. Based on the research presented here, isn’t it good to know that modern texting technology may hold a key to improving social communication and, ultimately, quality of life, for people diagnosed as such?
References
Al-Harbi, S.S. (2015). The influence of media in children’s language development. Journal of Educational and Developmental Psychology, 5(1), pp.1-5. Doi: 10.5539/jedp.v5n1p1.
Bower, W.K. (2015). Talk to text: An application of discourse analysis to text messaging in adolescents with social communication disorders (Doctoral dissertation). Available from Dissertation Abstracts International (DAI-A 77/06E).
Durkin, K., & Conti-Ramsden, G. (2014). Turn off or tune in? What advice can SLTs, educational psychologists and teachers provide about uses of new media and children with language impairment. Child Language Teaching and Therapy, 30(2), pp. 187-205.
Geher, G. (2014). Evolutionary Psychology 101. New York: Springer.
Mazurek, M.O., & Wenstrup, C. (2013). Television, video game and social media use among children with ASD and typically developing siblings. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 43, pp. 1258-1271.
