BANGKOK, 6 September 2012 – An expert in children brain and development has revealed that tablet computers for first grade students can slow down their brain development.
Dr Chanpen Chooprapawan, an expert in children brain and development commented that tablets may create negative effects to the society. She said that by using tablets, children under 12 will not use their upper brain, as they are not learning from the real environment.
According to her, a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan shows three parts of human brain. The first part is for survival such as breathing. The second part makes human a social creature by loving their families and friends, and the third part is the upper brain, which builds creativity and imaginations. Dr Chanpen stated that by being in the virtual reality when using the tablet, the upper brain stops functioning, leading to a slowdown in brain growth.
The expert stated that children under 12 have to be exposed to as many different environments as possible so they can use all of their six senses. She pointed out that human cannot skip development, especially at young age. She implied that teenagers, who already have strong foundation with natural steps of brain development, can then choose to learn through tablets.
The government has launched the one tablet per child policy in the middle of this year as part of its populist policy. The tablets are being distributed to schools in an alphabetical order of provincial names.
