Science for policy to protect children in cyberspace

This paper translates research and scientific findings to inform the development of public policies that can protect children in cyberspace. The project, a unique partnership of scientists and legal scholars, is a prime example of cross-disciplinary, translational work with direct implications for policy.

Policy makers—and parents—need to understand the impacts on children of living in a cyberspace environment for many of their developmental years. Current policies and regulations regarding cyberspace often do not consider the unique attributes, needs, and vulnerabilities of young children and adolescents. Excessive online activity can stall children’s development and increase their tendency to impulsivity and sensation seeking. The paper notes that more than a third of children in the United States are still in diapers when they start using digital devices on which they spend an average of four to nine hours each day during their formative years.

The researchers used a scientific lens to examine corporations’ use of gamification and incorporation of appealing social features into their offerings for children in the digital sphere. The paper, which defines gamification as the incorporation of game-like features into non-game apps and services, notes that this multipurpose strategy can be used to make products and services more attractive, easy to use, habit-forming, and enjoyable. The social features incorporated into cyberspace activities for young people include chat and messaging functions that allow direct interaction with other users, including total strangers.

The authors stress that parents need to understand that, while some digital applications and learning platforms are educational and informative for children, there is potential for adverse effects when children have a great deal of unsupervised exposure to social media and games. Brain science shows that when children play online games or interact on social media, there is an increase in dopamine, a neurotransmitter in the brain that is responsible for motivation, reward, and feelings of pleasure. Normally, dopamine directs us toward stimuli that enable our survival, such as food, sex, reproduction, and social acceptance. Commonly abused substances are attractive due to their ability to amplify activation of dopamine receptors in the brain, inducing much higher levels of pleasure than normal activities. The result can be habit formation and a compulsion to repeat the intensively pleasurable experience. In a similar way, playing online games can have an addictive-like quality, becoming compulsive.

While for-profit businesses are using scientific knowledge about child and adolescent brain development in cyberspace to inform technology development and marketing strategies, policy makers are slower to do so. Without collaboration among scientists and law/policy experts, scientific findings remain inaccessible to decision-makers, and research designs are not tailored to address the concrete policy questions at hand.

There is now sufficient scientific evidence of harm from excessive engagement in digital platforms to inform policy. Policymakers and regulators need to gain an understanding of how these programs are developed. Becoming familiar with these research findings will enhance policymakers’ ability to make well-informed decisions when it comes to regulating how tech companies are marketing to children.

Files

Metadata

Work Title Science for policy to protect children in cyberspace
Access
Open Access
Creators
  1. Michal Gilad
  2. Diana H. Fishbein
  3. Gideon Nave
  4. Nizan Geslevich Packin
License In Copyright (Rights Reserved)
Work Type Article
Publisher
  1. Science
Publication Date March 31, 2023
Publisher Identifier (DOI)
  1. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.ade9447
Deposited May 29, 2023

Versions

Analytics

Collections

This resource is currently not in any collection.

Work History

Version 1
published

  • Created
  • Added Science_Policy_Forum_-_Final_Pub.pdf
  • Added Creator Michal Gilad
  • Added Creator Diana H. Fishbein
  • Added Creator Gideon Nave
  • Added Creator Nizan Geslevich Packin
  • Published
  • Updated Description Show Changes
    Description
    • <p>Cross-disciplinary partnerships are needed to formulate policies that account for developmental vulnerabilities.</p>
    • <p>This paper translates research and scientific findings to inform the development of public policies that can protect children in cyberspace. The project, a unique partnership of scientists and legal scholars, is a prime example of cross-disciplinary, translational work with direct implications for policy.</p>
    • <p>Policy makers—and parents—need to understand the impacts on children of living in a cyberspace environment for many of their developmental years. Current policies and regulations regarding cyberspace often do not consider the unique attributes, needs, and vulnerabilities of young children and adolescents. Excessive online activity can stall children’s development and increase their tendency to impulsivity and sensation seeking. The paper notes that more than a third of children in the United States are still in diapers when they start using digital devices on which they spend an average of four to nine hours each day during their formative years.</p>
    • <p>The researchers used a scientific lens to examine corporations’ use of gamification and incorporation of appealing social features into their offerings for children in the digital sphere. The paper, which defines gamification as the incorporation of game-like features into non-game apps and services, notes that this multipurpose strategy can be used to make products and services more attractive, easy to use, habit-forming, and enjoyable. The social features incorporated into cyberspace activities for young people include chat and messaging functions that allow direct interaction with other users, including total strangers.</p>
    • <p>The authors stress that parents need to understand that, while some digital applications and learning platforms are educational and informative for children, there is potential for adverse effects when children have a great deal of unsupervised exposure to social media and games. Brain science shows that when children play online games or interact on social media, there is an increase in dopamine, a neurotransmitter in the brain that is responsible for motivation, reward, and feelings of pleasure. Normally, dopamine directs us toward stimuli that enable our survival, such as food, sex, reproduction, and social acceptance. Commonly abused substances are attractive due to their ability to amplify activation of dopamine receptors in the brain, inducing much higher levels of pleasure than normal activities. The result can be habit formation and a compulsion to repeat the intensively pleasurable experience. In a similar way, playing online games can have an addictive-like quality, becoming compulsive.</p>
    • <p>While for-profit businesses are using scientific knowledge about child and adolescent brain development in cyberspace to inform technology development and marketing strategies, policy makers are slower to do so. Without collaboration among scientists and law/policy experts, scientific findings remain inaccessible to decision-makers, and research designs are not tailored to address the concrete policy questions at hand.</p>
    • <p>There is now sufficient scientific evidence of harm from excessive engagement in digital platforms to inform policy. Policymakers and regulators need to gain an understanding of how these programs are developed. Becoming familiar with these research findings will enhance policymakers’ ability to make well-informed decisions when it comes to regulating how tech companies are marketing to children.</p>
  • Updated