Potential Psychology

'It's 'digital heroin': How screens turn kids into psychotic junkies' That was the NY Post headline that sent the internet into meltdown in 2016. The article went on to state that 'your kid's brain on Minecraft looks like a brain on drugs' and every parent who has ever experienced a pang of guilt watching their child immersed in a screen-based game felt that guilt engulf them.But is it true? Are video and screen-based games as terrifying as the headlines suggest?In this episode of the Potential Psychology Podcast I'm talking to Peter Gray, Research Professor of Psychology at Boston College. Peter is the author of both a widely used introductory psychology textbook, Psychology which is now in its seventh edition and Free to Learn: Why Unleashing the Instinct to Play Will Make Our Children Happier, More Self-Reliant, and Better Students for LifePeter writes a popular blog for Psychology Today entitled "Freedom to Learn". He is frequently invited to speak to groups of educators, parents, and researchers about ch