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If you have kids or grandkids who use technology (lots of technology) you'll want to know about ongoing research like this study funded by the National Institute of Health.

According to a report on CBS' 60 Minutes, using smartphones, tables and video games is physically changing the brains of adolescents, . The study is following more than 11,000 nine- to 10-year-olds for a decade to see how childhood experiences impact the brain and affect emotional development and mental health.

The early results from brain scans are showing that more than seven hours of daily screen use leads to premature thinning of the brain cortex, the outermost layer that processes information from the physical world.

Sounds ominous but is it?  The correct answer is that we don't know - yet.   Researchers say they don’t know if the brain changes are being caused by the screen time and they don’t know if it’s a bad thing, adding that it won’t be known until the kids are followed over time to see  if there are specific outcomes associated with the changes being noted already.

In other words. stay tuned.

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