NNCC Social Interaction and the Computer

SOCIAL INTERACTION AND THE COMPUTER

National Network for Child Care's Connections Newsletter

Dave Riley, Ph.D.
Child Development Specialist
Human Development and Family Studies
University of Wisconsin - Madison Cooperative Extension

Copyright/Access Information

It is very important that young children learn how to share, cooperate, understand others, and how to communicate clearly. Children learn these social skills when they interact with each other. Most child care providers make social development an important goal of their program.

More and more, computers are being used in both center and family day care settings. Computers offer many unique learning opportunities to children. But some providers worry that playing with computers too much may interfere with children's social development.

A study conducted by Carol Martin, Pat Dickson, and Francisco Villarruel at the University of Wisconsin-Madison suggests that so long as teachers structure the activity right, there is little cause for concern with young children using computers. They videotaped the social interaction of preschoolers in three activities: dramatic play, lunchtime, and using a personal computer. Surprisingly, they found that interaction between children was highest during computer play. Dramatic play and snacktime were often dominated by more socially outgoing children. In contrast, pairing children for computer activities offered a greater chance for shy children to participate and talk.

Working or playing on computers is usually thought of as an individual activity. However, by pairing children on the computer, it turned into a cooperative activity. Careful thought must go into deciding which children to pair. Providers should avoid pairing shy children with children who tend to always "take over." The researchers also recommend that parents and providers look for educational computer programs. These programs promote sharing and taking turns more than the programs modeled after arcade games which tend to have aggressive and destructive themes.

As part of their study, the researchers were also very interested in seeing how disabled and non-disabled preschoolers interacted with each other. Again, the computer was clearly ahead of dramatic play and lunchtime as an activity that brought about social interaction. Children with disabilities talked with their non-disabled peers 30% of the time while working on the computer. In the dramatic play and lunch settings, they only talked 12% and 13% of the time. The study also found the computer to be an important tool in promoting friendships between children who might otherwise see each other as different. These results may even extend to other social differences, for example, children from different racial or ethnic groups.

If you are looking for new ways to develop children's social skills, consider the potential benefits of your personal computer!

DOCUMENT USE/COPYRIGHT
National Network for Child Care - NNCC. Part of CYFERNET, the National Extension Service
Children Youth and Family Educational Research Network. Permission is granted to reproduce
these materials in whole or in part for educational purposes only (not for profit beyond the cost of
reproduction) provided that the author and Network receive acknowledgment and this notice is
included:

Reprinted with permission from the National Network for Child Care - NNCC. Riley, D. (1993). Social interaction and the computer. In Todd, C.M. (Ed.), *Family day care connections*, 2(5), p. 5. Urbana-Champaign, IL: University of Illinois Cooperative Extension Service.

FORMAT AVAILABLE:: Internet
DOCUMENT REVIEW:: Level 3 - National Peer Review
DOCUMENT SIZE:: 12K or 3 pages
ENTRY DATE:: February 1996