When adults and even children use video conferencing, we of course recognize that the screen is merely showing us an image of someone far away as we speak. Babies? Not so much.

Science News reports on a new study looking at how young children respond to video calls. “Lots of families use video calling to connect with long-distance relatives, but scientists don’t know how babies handle the technology,” the article notes.

The researchers at Georgetown University are studying how young children interact with video communication technology like Skype, FaceTime and Google Hangouts. “There’s almost no research that explores how children under age 2 are using video calling at home, yet these are the children who are most likely to benefit from it,” they said.

The full article is here — as the reporter and her child participate in the study.