No computers for those under nine years old?

I am grateful to Clive for sending me this piece of news from the British Computer Society, now Chartered Institute for IT

Under-9s 'too young for computers', expert says

14/06/2010
Computers should be banned in nurseries and primary schools in order to prevent modern technology from hindering the mental development of young children, it has been claimed.

While schools across the UK continue to invest in computer systems, a leading psychologist has warned that screen-based technology can serve to 'dull the brains' of young children.

Dr Aric Sigman, who is a fellow of the Royal Society of Medicine, has called for computers to be banned in Britain's schools until children reach the age of nine, so as to enable their brains to develop in the 'real world' before being exposed to the virtual world.

'The young brain needs to be primed through real world 3D experiences that place plenty of cognitive demands on it,' he explained.

'While new technology may serve as a powerful tool, it must be introduced and used judiciously at much later ages - ideally at least age nine.'

I've started to look into it, and see who's speaking out against it with any authority.  But it is a tiny bit worrying if it's a valid concern.  I have often thought that the whole of ICT is probably contributing to a new phase in human evolution.  The way we relate to the world now, through various aspects of Web 2.0, and now in new ways again with the emergence of Web 3.0, is bound to affect the ways we think, which in turn will literally change the connections in our brain.  We are becoming far more multi-tasking than ever before, and multi-conversational.  My adventures in Second Life have made me very aware that virtual relationships bring about new social rules, and new forces in our emotional arena which we have never before experienced.  I can easily believe that, as more and more of the world's population get involved in these technologies, the more we will change as a race.

Whether or not those under the age of nine are more "at risk", and whether this is actually a risk of danger, I have yet to find out.  But it's going to be difficult for education authorities around the globe to decide to withdraw ICT from primary schools.  Slow as it has been to develop im most countries, it is going to be found to be very deeply entrenched now, and hard to turn away from.