Researchers believe that something similar may be happening in the way babies learn about human relationships through screen-based communication. Video chatting may be redefining the fundamental basis on which babies form an understanding of social interactions. “Parents are not encouraging a child to pretend to give affection," McClure said. “They’re encouraging them to give real affection through the screen. They don’t say, ‘Kiss the screen.’ They say, ‘Kiss Grandma.’ They are teaching them that it is real.”