Becoming Autistic: How Technology is Altering the Minds of the Next Generation

What’s Happening to Young Minds?

The great danger we face as we become more intimately involved with our computers – as we come to experience more of our lives through the disembodied symbols flickering across our screens – is that we’ll begin to lose our humanness, to sacrifice the very qualities that separate us from machines.

— Nicholas Carr¹

We were born and raised in different times: one of us a Baby Boomer and the other the child of a Baby Boomer or a Gen Xer, depending on who you speak to. And while ten years separates us, the context of our childhoods is not too dissimilar. We grew up using a telephone with a cord strategically placed in the home, with televisions that were often constructed as a piece of furniture and with limited channels to view, and where almost all financial transactions occurred by cash or some form of cheque. Our news was seldom fake and not always timely. Events happening on the other side of the planet were not always available in real time or 24/7. Board games were something families enjoyed together, game show prizes were limited to home appliances or, if generous, to a car. Computer games were only beginning to emerge. Compared to today, our childhood and teenage years seem to be light years behind us, for the devices we found in science fiction books, television shows or movies are now held in the palms of our hands or on the drawing boards of companies in Silicon Valley. Importantly, the boundaries between defining human and machine are becoming increasingly blurred as technology continues to make inroads into our lives. It is our contention that such inroads, or shall we say intrusions, are altering the minds of 21st century young people in ways we are only beginning to understand.

Since the turn of the century there has been a great deal of research exploring how technology and the internet might be impacting on the brain. This has been complemented by research examining the impact of screen devices on many aspects of child and adolescent development. Everything from attention to concentration to physical health to psychological wellbeing are increasingly scrutinised by researchers interested in the potential impact of a ‘screen-driven’ society on the bodies and minds of a species whose brain takes almost three decades to fully mature. Yes, three decades! The human brain is not fully developed until somewhere after our 23rd birthday and varies between males and females. This means that some of the most critical aspects of neurological development occur in children and teenagers. Moreover, this development is occurring in social, cultural and contextual environments that are vastly different from those experienced by any previous generation. At no point in the history of humanity has information and technology had such a pervasive impact on human development and, by most measures, the influence of technology and, by association, screen devices is only increasing. Therefore, we think that the ubiquitous nature of screen devices coupled with concerns around what such devices might be doing to young minds is a story worth telling. This story is not asking people to abandon screens, as that type of reductionist thinking is not realistic, but instead looks carefully at screen usage, especially by children and adolescents, and suggests that parents should apply a ‘precautionary’ mindset whenever they hand a device to their child. In other words, we posit that parents should consider the risks with engaging in screens and take caution in circumstances when the degree of uncertainty surrounding the outcomes of the risk is too high.² We will unpack that further throughout the book.

From the outset it is important to offer some insight into the thoughts and ideas that have helped shape the title of the book and the words you are reading now. To begin, we would argue that too often any discussion of screen devices, social media, gaming and tech use is dominated by individuals with a vested interest in promoting the use of technology, by politicians expounding soundbites of technology as a panacea for learning or by experts in media studies and/or ‘e-learning’ (electronic learning). To be clear, their expertise is not in child and adolescent development or health. For child development experts, psychologists and neuroscientists, it is not just the technology itself that is concerning us but also the content of young children’s experiences with screen devices. This concern is not based on any hostility towards technology but purely on concerns surrounding the premature use or overuse of screens in young people whose brains and bodies are not yet fully formed. It is our contention that because of the pervasive nature of screens, and the taken-for-granted ubiquity of screen devices, we believe screen time must now be considered a major public health issue. Reducing screen time must become the new priority for child and adolescent health. Perhaps the most confronting reason for our position is the growing incidence of perfectly ‘normal’ children displaying autistic-like behaviours, which appears to be linked to screen usage. This is particularly evident in the stories and examples provided in the chapters you are about to read.

Chapter 1 provides some basic understanding of the human brain and how it develops. It tells the story of how the brain, or the most unimaginable thing imaginable,³ starts as a few cells in utero to become one of the most complex structures in our universe. Of most importance in this chapter is the explanation of how the brain can change and how experiences can impact on brain development. This is referred to as ‘neuroplasticity’. While a malleable brain offers humans a range of evolutionary and survival advantages, it also makes it very susceptible to unwanted alterations.

The next chapter then focuses on the developing adolescent brain. Many people might not be aware that while a 15-year-old might look like an adult in terms of physical stature, the gelatinous mass between a teen’s ears is going through a major reconstruction. The developing adolescent brain is not a miniature adult brain and it might actually influence its owner to do things that would defy logic or belief in the eyes of most. In terms of maturation, adolescent development goes well beyond reproductive changes, hormones and acne. The adolescent brain is in the midst of a myriad of changes that will impact on most aspects of behaviour and this in turn is also influenced by the environment and context. The key message here is to consider what is happening to a developing adolescent brain and, by association, mind, when it is spending a large amount of time staring into a screen. There are also questions to be answered in terms of what happens to an adolescent when they are bombarded by unwanted pixelated images, malicious content, disingenuous individuals or any range of things from which previous generations of parents could more easily shield their children.

Chapter 3 offers insights into the rapid changes that occurred in technology and computers leading into the 21st century and the subsequent advances that have taken place at an unprecedented pace or what we refer to as The Matrix, premised on the motion picture. The information age, along with advances in technology, has changed our lives in many ways but some of those changes and their purported advancements have received little scrutiny. Couple such rapid changes with the understanding that it has taken thousands of years for the human brain to evolve into the marvel it is and it should be evident that too much too soon, in terms of immersing a young mind for extended periods into a virtual world, may not be all that positive in the long term. We would like to give you, the reader, a different and arguably more informed perspective while suggesting that you take the red pill! The red pill is a purposeful reference to The Matrix film trilogy … if you haven’t seen the movies, the red pill refers to your willingness to learn potentially unsettling or life-changing truths.

Chapter 4 then takes us further into The Matrix by scrutinising the omitted, unspoken or hidden issues shining through the divine glow of screens – what screens do to very important aspects of children’s and adolescents’ innate physical and psychological functions. This then offers a foundation for Chapter 5, which teases out the ever-increasing evidence of problems that arise when screen usage overlaps with violent media, addiction, bullying and pornography.

Chapter 6 furthers our journey of unsettling truths by focusing on how social media might more aptly be described as a social disease. Yes, it sounds extreme, and while we acknowledge the existence of some benefits for connecting with others online, we also think it important to present evidence indicating that social media is a major contributor to a wide array of psychological disorders that, prior to the beginning of the 21st century, were actually less evident or even in a state of decline. From the moment we were huddled around our televisions watching our clocks move from 1999 to 2000 while waiting for the world to end because of Y2K, the mental health of young people has declined precipitously. And this at a time when, by most measures, life has improved for people around the globe.

Chapter 7 then gets to the heart of the matter by looking at how screens can rapidly diminish our social skill set. Human beings are, by nature, social beings and it is our contention that screens are contributing to the ‘autistification’ of a generation. Borrowing from the work of evolutionary biologists Heather Heying and Bret Weinstein, we posit that screen usage is producing what we call ‘contextual autism’.⁴ This is what sets our work apart from others who have looked at the downside of screens and screen time. We contend that, based on the evidence, screen usage with all of its inherent apps and benefits is so focused on bombarding the developing brain with sensory data, that little or no importance is given to its impact on emotional and social development. For thousands of years the human brain has evolved in a milieu of social interaction in real time and this is being displaced by a virtual world that is numbing our children’s senses.

And finally, Chapter 8 provides some idea of what can be done to buffer the impact of screen usage and to help ensure your children do not lose themselves in their own little virtual worlds. It turns out that the solution to healthy development and overall wellbeing can be found not far beyond your front door. So while screens are here to stay, your children do not need to get lost in The Matrix but instead can find all they need in the real world if you give them chances to do so.

We were born and raised in different times and the times, indeed, are a changing. We are not advocating a romanticised view of history and a call to return to days gone by at the expense of advancements that have improved our lives. Instead, we contend