You're making some big jumps here. There's a chasm between the developmental level of 6-year-olds and 11-year-olds. Also, looking at a paper from the 1950s, whe

You're making some big jumps here. There's a chasm between the developmental level of 6-year-olds and 11-year-olds. Also, looking at a paper from the 1950s, when, as you say, research in this field is cyclical, seems to suggest that that particular finding wasn't sufficiently replicated. Finally, micro-computer use is inherently an individual task, because the user experience has been designed for individual use. Even with a teacher involved, each child is largely on their own and making their own learning. Young children learn instruments (including their own voice), and participate in both individual and group musical acivities. By your logic, that would be inappropriate, but it not only happens every day, across the country, but is the source of quite a few musical artists' later success. I think, if anything, the key might be in the expertise educators have with the given instrument. Most music instructors are talented musicians or vocalists themselves, and I imagine most have a keen sense for how to encourage proper care of both the student and their tool. Maybe it'e changed, but most of the teachers I had growing up that were involved with computer use were largely trained in library sciences. I don't know that there even IS any effective deep training wrt computer use. It's not just that the technology is new, but also that most experts are going to be coming from a tech industry whose modus operandi is purposely cultivating unhealthy relationship with their products.