Embedded Files
ABCD Study
Kevin Bumble '26
Technology is a friend of many and a foe of few. Generally, it is more positive than an opposing force, but it has and will take away specific jobs. For example, in recent years, the cashier job has begun to be replaced by self-checkout stations. Going back even further, the occupation of a Switchboard Operator has been obsolete since the late 1970s as it transitioned to automated operators. Nowadays, careers in computer science aren’t generally considered necessary due to the rise of artificial intelligence. Could more essential jobs be replaced with technology or artificial intelligence in the future? Currently, in most schools, technology is already replacing classroom objects. Chromebooks or laptops replace notebooks and binders, and Google Classroom and AP Classroom replace paper assignments, whether a science assignment or an essay for History class or English. TVs are replacing chalkboards and smartboards. All of these transitions to technology increase the amount of screen time. For those who didn’t know, screen time isn’t just the amount spent on a cellular device or television; it’s any electronic device. They all produce some form of blue light, and it is common knowledge that it harms our eyes and brains. If it is so harmful to adults, how does it affect the youth?
The Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study investigates the effects of screen time on our youths' brain development and health. This study is a long-term nationwide project with 21 research sites. Some 21 research sites are composed of highly respected universities and establishments, such as the Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, the University of Michigan, and Yale University. The ABCD study began in 2015 after various institutions from the National Institutes of Health and centers collaborated to fund and establish this study. Over time, the study has grown in scale, from initially researching the effects of screen time on brain development to expanding its reach to the National Institutes of Health’s Office of Research on Women's Health (or the ORWH) and the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (or NHLBI) which respectively are introduced individually to address gender and sex influences in adolescent brain development, and to address hematologic health and cardiovascular health of adolescents. The National The Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) and the National Cancer Institute (NCI) are also heavily involved in the ABCD study. Deriving from the knowledge we retain about the ABCD study, let us dive into something more relevant to our youth…their education.
The development of technology in education has had mixed results with our youth. I surveyed 80 students from four different school districts across Long Island, asking them this prompt: Do you prefer physical or digital school work, and why?
The majority of students preferred physical school work over online school work. Although, the Most students stated it was circumstantial whether or not they preferred online or physical school work, saying that they preferred doing their English and History assignments digitally and their Science and Math assignments on paper. The most common reasons for the two were how it is easier to type essays and other writing-involved assignments, as well as having the aid of grammar tools, then for sciences and mathematics, for most students, it is easiest to understand these complex topics if they can see it, and attempt to do it themselves, henceforth why there are such things as physical labs for classes involving science, like some of our courses such as Living Environment, Earth Science, Chemistry, and Physics.
In conclusion, most students preferred physical school work over online, so we shouldn’t continue to digitize school, as it could affect future generations of students and how they learn. It would be beneficial to discuss our advancements in technology in schools, and implement more physical schoolwork so that there is always something to do while in school, and that the valuable time in school may never be wasted.
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