The ability to self-regulate -- that is, to manage our own emotions and behavior -- is being undermined, too, Rowan said. If mom stops to talk to someone on the street, for example, children are reaching for the phone instead of joining the conversation or otherwise figuring out how to amuse themselves for a few moments.
"These children are not entertaining themselves, they're being entertained by a device ... so there's no creativity, there's no imagination, no self-initiation," Rowan said. "These things are very, very important for sustainability and your own self-gratification and happiness when you're older."