Babys und Bildschirme: Realer oder virtueller Autismus?

Zusammenfassung

Autismus ist eine durch genetische und umweltbedingte Faktoren verursachte Störung der Gehirnentwicklung im frühen Kindesalter. Es gibt verschiedene Schweregrade, von leichten sozialen Defiziten (manchmal in Kombination mit besonderen Fähigkeiten wie Kopfrechnen oder eidetischem Vorstellungsvermögen) bis hin zur schweren geistigen Behinderung und lebenslanger deutlicher Beeinträchtigung. In den letzten 50 Jahren ist die Prävalenz von Autismus von einem Fall auf 5000 auf einen Fall von 44 Kindern exponentiell gestiegen. Für dieses Phänomen wurden mehrere Ursachen vorgeschlagen – von einer Ausweitung des Krankheitskonzepts und einer Zunahme des Wissens über und Bewusstseins für die Krankheit bis hin zu einer tatsächlichen Zunahme der Störung, die durch die Elternschaft in einem späteren Alter verursacht wird. Experten sind sich jedoch einig darüber, dass etwa die Hälfte dieses dramatischen Anstiegs – um mehr als das 100-Fache – ungeklärt ist. Ausgehend von den jüngsten Beobachtungen eines Zusammenhangs zwischen der frühen Nutzung von Bildschirmmedien und der Entwicklung autistischer Symptome wird hier argumentiert, dass ein zentrales Merkmal der heutigen Umwelt von Kleinkindern, die digitalen Bildschirmmedien, den gemeldeten Anstieg der Prävalenz mit erklären könnte.

Publication History

Article published online:
31 May 2023

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