A massive study reviewing screen use and child development has found links between higher screen exposure and poorer outcomes for children.
Researchers found that greater screen exposure was associated with lower academic achievement, poorer language development, and higher rates of emotional, behavioral and peer-related problems.
The study also found that social media use was linked to negative outcomes, including higher levels of internalizing problems such as anxiety and depression symptoms. Researchers noted that associations varied by screen type, a child’s age and other factors.
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Earlier this summer, a federal advisory warned that harmful screen use among children and adolescents has become a growing public health concern.
“Social media is only one aspect of this ongoing screen time problem. Behavior patterns involving gaming, online gambling, and other forms of virtual interaction are emerging,” wrote U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. “While this report uses “screen time” as a widely understood shorthand, we want people to understand that we are referring to the entire digital ecosystem of apps, smartphones, tablets, chatbots, and other screen-associated devices and interfaces.”
The advisory also included several recommendations aimed at promoting healthier screen habits.
Those recommendations included:
- Encouraging parents to monitor their own screen use, take breaks and establish boundaries.
- Creating a family media plan that outlines which devices can be used, where and when they can be used, what content is appropriate and how much screen time is allowed.
- Implementing school cell phone restrictions.
Researchers behind the child development study stressed that the findings show an association rather than a cause-and-effect relationship.
Still, the findings suggest screen use may be an important factor associated with children’s overall well-being.
