Study: Increased screen time is linked to decreased growth and development in children

A new study showed a link between the amount of time children spend in front of screens and their growth and development, as weaker results were observed in the areas of learning, speech, and emotional regulation in children who spend more time in front of screens. Sherri Madigan, the study's senior author and a professor of psychology at the University of Calgary in Canada, explained to Ofek News on Tuesday that researchers reviewed decades of research on the impact of screen time on children's development, and this research included about three million children aged 18 and under from 64 countries.

“We found that, in general, increased screen time was associated with poorer outcomes for children in several areas of development, including how they think, learn, speak, behave, and their ability to regulate their emotions,” she said. "Most of the associations were relatively small, like most other factors that predict child development, but just because the effect is small doesn't mean it's unimportant, especially when we're talking about a factor like screen time, which has become almost ubiquitous in children's lives," she added.

Madigan added that more recent studies have provided evidence of stronger associations between screen time and children's development than older studies. She explained that one possible explanation for this is that the nature of screen use has changed.

“Twenty years ago, a child might spend an hour watching a TV show,” Madigan said. “Today, devices are everywhere, we hold them in our hands, and they are interactive, engaging, and responsive to each individual.”

“We need to better understand not only how children interact with technology, but also how technology interacts with children,” she added. Not all of them are bad, but she added that parents should not conclude after reading the study that “screens are inherently bad for children,” but rather they should pay attention to the way they are used.

“Technology is a big part of children’s lives, and digital technologies can be great tools to support children’s learning, creativity, and communication with others,” she said. “However, these technologies can also crowd out the things that children really need to grow and thrive, like sleep, physical activity, human connection, learning and play,” she added.

As a first step, instead of getting rid of devices completely, parents can designate an area or period of time in which screens interfere with children's basic needs. She added: “For many families, a good start might be to eat dinner without devices, or set a regular time during the day when everyone puts their devices down and connects with each other.

Governments also have a role. Madigan noted that parents should not be left alone to confront the issue of screen time, as governments also have a role to play. She said: “Governments should address children’s screen use in the same way as they address other factors we know are linked to children’s well-being, including providing guidance to families about screen use, supporting education and scientific research, and ensuring that children are protected from harm they may experience online.”

She added: “When governments do this, they help send a message to parents, schools and technology companies that screen use is something worth taking seriously.” Next, Madigan and her colleagues will look to find out which children are most affected by different types of digital experiences, and why.

“Because our results are correlational, they do not prove that screens cause these developmental outcomes,” she said. “It is possible that screen use contributes to some of the difficulties, but it is also possible that children who already have difficulties may be more likely to turn to screens.”

“Therefore, determining the direction of these associations and understanding which influences the other is an important area for future research,” she added. For her part, Tatiana Iñiguez Perutheby, a senior lecturer in sociology at the University of Zaragoza in Spain, who was not involved in the study, said that it is a “methodologically very strong article” and relies on a “very large” sample.

In a commentary published via the Science Media Center (SMC), she stated, “The key findings confirm what research has been showing for years, and put the current moral panic in media and society about the relationship between young people and screens into perspective: there is an association between screen time and poorer indicators of mental health and academic performance, but this association is very small.” The study was published in JAMA Pediatrics.