Could my 14-year-old son’s anxiety be related to playing video games?

Could my 14-year-old son’s anxiety be related to playing video games?

February 17, 2012

Q: Is there a connection between excessive video game playing and increased anxiety levels? My son is 14 and has some basic anxieties like walking the dog at night that I feel are made worse by the first-person shooter games he plays. I’d love to understand if you have seen any connections here. –Grappling with […]

Are static images on TV harmful to toddlers?

January 12, 2012

Q: When our 14-month-old son was born, his pediatrician told us to avoid screen time, so we do not allow him to watch TV and we rarely have it on while he is awake. But, we subscribe to a music service that streams through the TV. When the songs play, the album covers are shown […]

Will media affect my 4-year-old’s ability to pay attention?

October 5, 2011

Q: I’m wondering if you would consider the results of research that has examined relationships between media and inattention to be conclusive. It seems that even on this website, some researchers find a connection and some don’t. Do the results lean in one direction more than the other? I have a 4-year-old son who is […]

How can I keep my teen from texting while driving?

October 18, 2010

A: Research shows that using a phone while behind the wheel increases a driver’s risk of getting into an accident by four times (that’s about the same risk as driving drunk) and that drivers who text can be up to 23 times more likely to crash…
Answered by Dr. Michael Rich, The Mediatrician®

Are attention disorders connected to technology addiction?

July 19, 2010

  Q:  Are impulsive children, or children with ADHD, more likely to develop technology addictions? –Answers about ADHD in San Francisco, CA A: Dear Answers, This is a tricky subject for a very basic reason: Although diagnosed and treated as a serious problem in Asia and Europe, technology addiction, also known as video or internet addiction, […]