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  • Hacker News
  • Unfortuantely, this is true
    by mahmoudilyan
  • Controlled for confounding variables right? Right??
    by potatototoo99
  • No, they didn't control for confounders.

    They did separate analysis based on grade level and whether English is the home language.

    But they didn't control for parental education or socioeconomic status, both of which would likely be predictive of a child's reading comprehension and their chance of having a phone as a 9yo.

    by rahimnathwani
  • Why don't you read the study and raise the specific confounders you think are missing?

    The answer is universally "no", there's no such thing as "controlling for [all] confounding variables" without blinded randomization. But we unfortunately have to rely on observational studies to try to understand the world. At least to understand what specific questions can justify the cost and complexity of a randomized study.

    So yeah, of course there are confounders. Some are controlled in this study and others are not. Which are the important ones you think are missing?

    by estearum
  • Obviously reading improves reading and if kid has phone it doesn't read (books), but plays games or watch videos.

    Though study found one benefit - if kid is non-native speaker they can improve their English by using the phone (in English).

    Link to original study https://www.mdpi.com/2076-328X/16/8/1263

    by Markoff
  • > and if kid has phone it doesn't read (books)

    I haven't read a physical book in about a decade. I read everyday. How is this possible?

    by bcjdjsndon
  • > Obviously reading improves reading and if kid has phone it doesn't read (books), but plays games or watch videos.

    We've been wrong about "obvious" things many many times before. And even in this article they refer to some evidence that hints in the opposite direction as this "obvious" mechanism.

    > One showed that texting benefits the skill of grasping meaning; the other showed texting to be a negative influence on basic reading mechanics at the letter and word level.

    (FWIW, I largely agree with you that this is obvious, but we should try to build our knowledge from the basics regardless)

    by estearum
  • I don't partake in the whole "dopamine addiction" nonsense, but you can literally feel your cognitive performance getting worse the more you use your phone. Not only infinite feeds, also shopping at the tip of your fingers, at all times, the possibility of immediately searching, finding something. Even your interests completely change; suddenly reading is boring and something you have no energy for. Movies and TV Shows are boring. Videogames are not rewarding. Like a switch, I suddenly start reading again, enjoying these things the moment I block all such immediate-hit distractions from my phone.

    I think phones are the real issue. Even if you have unlimited access to whatever short form apps, eshopping, information on a computer, it's the ease of being able to immediately get a hit as you lie comfortably in your couch, or while you wait for something, that's the issue. No time to simmer in your thoughts, or to be able to put in some effort to get a reward. We are lazy by nature, smartphones exploit that to make profits, and as a consequence to that, we rewire our brains to prefer the seamlessly of just scrolling down ad infinitum.

    by Bridged7756
  • i quit watching short form videos recently and my attention has come back - like i can actually read books and watch long videos and just let my mind think for much longer. It's incredibly damaging what algorithmic feeds are doing to people's minds.
    by jansport123
  • My phone use is completely different to this. I mainly use it as a reading and text communication device.

    A phone is just a computer.

    by tim-projects
  • > Even your interests completely change; suddenly reading is boring and something you have no energy for. Movies and TV Shows are boring. Videogames are not rewarding. Like a switch, I suddenly start reading again, enjoying these things the moment I block all such immediate-hit distractions from my phone.

    What are you doing on your phone if not reading? Are you watching short TikTok/Instagram videos or something?

    by deaux