How Does Having a Computer Affect Your Child's Intelligence?

Computers May Harm More Than Help Your Child's Learning

by Dr. David Walsh

For the last two decades, ever since the advent of the first affordable personal computers, we have seen a widespread belief that computers at home and in the classroom improve student performance. How deep-seated is this belief? A few years ago, one of the centerpieces of President Clinton's State of the Union speech was a goal to put an Internet-ready computer into every classroom in the country. From the Apple eMac to the Dell Dude to Windows XP Editions for Students, we are bombarded by a multi-million dollar marketing machine, reinforcing the belief that computers are a magic carpet ride to a better education.

A new study by two researchers at the University of Munich in Germany tried to determine exactly how much computers help students. This study is the largest of its kind ever conducted. The results were configured using the data from hundreds of thousands of students in more than thirty countries. As scientific proof goes, this is about as ironclad as it comes.

What exactly did the German study prove? At first glance, it seems to confirm exactly what we have always suspected: overall, the kids with computers at home did better in school than the kids who didn't have them. Computers appear to provide a substantial advantage.

But when you analyze the results controlling for factors such as family income and the educational level of the children's parents, the study looks much different. If you compare a child who has a computer to one with the same background who doesn't own one, you see the kid with the computer does worse in school. The real predictor of school success is family background. Computers just happen be more prevalent in the homes of students who do better in school overall because those are the homes with relatively high incomes and highly educated parents.

The negative effect of a home computer is not a result of some inherent flaw in the machines. It is due to the way kids use them. Because most computer use in the home is for entertainment purposes, a computer can become a distraction from homework rather than an aid for it. Computers can help kids learn, but the only children who do better in school are the ones who use their computers for educational purposes such as Internet research and learning software.

The moral of this story should be familiar. Computers are powerful tools. Used properly they can enhance school performance. But when we allow our kids to use them as high-tech entertainment centers, the magic boxes have the same negative impact as excessive TV viewing. Believing computers can help students isn't wrong as long as we show our kids how to use them right.