Can Suboptimal Visual Environments Negatively Affect Children’s Cognitive Development?

Abstract

There are indications that children born during the period of COVID-19 lockdown have cognitive development issues, without having been affected by the virus. We discuss here the idea that environmental deprivation—and, especially, the lack of appropriate visual stimulation—might be one source of these defects. This thought is in line with previous findings in children brought up in orphanages with poor environmental stimulation, hypothesizing that the minimalist architectural style prevailing for the last several decades is among the potential contributing factors. The process of eliminating organized complexity characteristic of organic forms may prove to be detrimental for humanity’s future, providing suboptimal environmental stimulation and opportunities for interaction during the critical stages of brain development.