Developing Minds in a Digital World
by Mark Matta, DO, DFAPA
PAPS President
September’s return to school invites us to consider a question extending well beyond the classroom: Are we teaching children to learn through technology, or teaching them how to use technology to become better learners? These are not interchangeable goals. As psychiatrists, we should help ensure that innovation strengthens developing minds rather than simply capturing their attention.
Childhood and adolescence are periods of remarkable brain plasticity. Networks supporting planning, impulse control, and emotional regulation continue developing into young adulthood, while adolescents are particularly responsive to social experiences. This creates tremendous opportunities for learning, but also vulnerability to environments organized around immediate rewards and constant engagement. (National Institute of Mental Health)
Concerns about shorter attention spans deserve thoughtful interpretation. Research links heavier digital media use with attention difficulties, but does not establish a universal, permanent decline in attention spans. Notifications and media multitasking can interrupt learning. In younger children, routinely using devices to manage distress is associated with weaker emotional regulation. The concern is not simply screen exposure, but whether technology displaces opportunities to practice patience, sustained attention, and coping. (AAP Publications)
The art of teaching must therefore include both instruction and discernment. Technology can support learning, but access to information is not the same as understanding. Teachers should pair digital resources with discussion, reading, reflection, and opportunities to explain reasoning. They should also preserve time for play, movement, and conversation. Students need explicit instruction in evaluating sources, recognizing persuasive design, protecting privacy, and knowing when to put a device away. Educators need support for this work, not an expectation that another application will replace their expertise. (AAP Publications)
Artificial intelligence makes this distinction even more urgent. Emerging tutoring systems offer the possibility of individualized explanations and feedback. Yet a high school mathematics experiment found that unrestricted AI assistance improved performance during practice while undermining subsequent performance without assistance; learning safeguards substantially reduced that harm. (PubMed) Completing an assignment is not equivalent to acquiring a skill. We should encourage students to attempt problems independently, use AI for guidance rather than substitution, and verify its responses. Human oversight and developmentally appropriate safeguards must accompany adoption. (UNESCO)
The mental health implications are equally nuanced. Disrupted sleep, cyberbullying, and harmful social comparison can threaten well-being, while supportive online communities and high-quality content can foster connection. Effects vary across children and circumstances. (AAP Publications) Our clinical conversations should move beyond “How many hours?” to “What are you doing online, how does it make you feel, and what is it replacing?” As physicians, parents, and mentors, we must model the boundaries we recommend.
As president of the Pennsylvania Psychiatric Society, I believe our role is to bring developmental science and clinical perspective into conversations among families, educators, and colleagues. We need neither reject technology nor embrace it uncritically. Instead, let us champion its thoughtful use while protecting the relationships and experiences through which children develop confidence, curiosity, and resilience. This September, our goal should be clear: not merely students who can obtain answers faster, but young people who can think independently, tolerate uncertainty, and remain connected to themselves and others.
Kind regards,
Mark Matta, DO, DFAPA
President of the Pennsylvania Psychiatric Society
Diplomate of the American Board of Psychiatry & Neurology
https://papsych.org/