Colorado Senator Michael Bennet recently introduced legislation that would give the National Institutes of Health (NIH) $95 million to investigate technology's impact on infants, children, and adolescents. Called the Children and Media Research Advancement Act (CAMRA), it would allow researchers to study how things such as mobile devices, social media, and virtual reality affect the way kids think, grow, and socialize.
The bill, which has been endorsed by Facebook, is considered a direct response to society's mounting concern over its complicated relationship with technology. The study would combine simple goals, like establishing definitions and measurements, with developing a scientific consensus on things such as tech addiction, the impact of social networking, and the effects of device use on childhood development.
CAMRA could also go a long way towards helping researchers gather evidence in balancing between the positives and negatives of technology, and its impact on young people. The NIH currently devotes little money to the investigation of technology's role in the interdependence of mental health and childhood development.
This concept isn't CAMRA's first appearance in Washington, as Senator Joseph Lieberman initially introduced the idea back in 2004. His bill recognized a lack of research about electronic media, but the legislation never made it past committee hearings. It's been reintroduced several times since, but with limited movement.
However, that could be different this time around. Lower cost devices and more accessible networks have increased electronic media usage and availability — impacting nearly every facet of society, regardless of age or economic status. Additionally, the bill currently has the bipartisan support of three Democratic and three Republican senators.
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