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In 1975, developmental psychologist Dr. Edward Tronick sat a mother and her baby face to face and filmed what happened when the mother suddenly stopped responding.
First the mother plays normally, smiling, talking, making eye contact. The baby mirrors everything, laughing, pointing, babbling back. Then the mother goes blank. No expression, no response, nothing. Within seconds the baby notices. She smiles harder. Points. Waves. Screeches. Uses every tool she has to get her mother back. When nothing works, she turns away, loses control of her posture, and collapses into herself with what Tronick described as “a withdrawn, hopeless facial expression.” The moment the mother re-engages, the baby recovers almost instantly. Three minutes of emotional absence from a parent did that to an infant. It became one of the most replicated findings in developmental psychology.
This was 1975, before smartphones existed. Now look around any park, restaurant, or living room. How many babies are looking up at a parent who is scrolling instead of looking back?
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