UCLA (2014)
Aim: To investigate whether digital media decreases children’s ability to read other people’s emotions.
Procedure: The researchers provided sixth grade students with a pre-test to establish their baseline
abilities to read emotions. The students were shown photographs and videotaped scenes where the
audio was silenced. The participants were then asked to infer people’s emotional states based on facial
expressions and non-verbal cues.
Half the students were then sent away to a camp where they lacked access to digital media. They spent
their time doing traditional camp activities – hiking, archery, and learning about nature. The control
group went about their daily activity as usual including their normal access to digital media (which for
these students averaged about four and a half hours on the typical school day).
After five days, both groups participated in a post-test.
Results: The kids who went to camp showed significant improvements in their abilities to recognize
emotions. The control group only showed a slight improvement.
Conclusion: The authors concluded that the increased face-to-face interaction improved the campers'
social skills.