Excess Exposure To Screens In Children
There are scientific studies that conclude that excess exposure to screens in children is associated with poorer cognitive and social-emotional development. When we refer to screens, we refer to mobiles, tablets , television, computers, and so on.
On many occasions, parents are not aware of the repercussions that excessive use of these devices can have on their little ones. For this article, in particular, we will draw on the recent study by Madigan, S., Browne, D., Racine, N., Mori, C., & Tough, S. (2019), published in JAMA Pediatrics , of the Association of American Pediatricians.
The research, which was titled Association between screen time and children’s performance in a developmental screening test, exposes several consequences that minors can suffer when they use the aforementioned devices excessively.
Scientific study of excess exposure to screens in children
We are going to break down the content of the study and its implications into sections, to make it easier to read and understand.
The study
This study closely followed the development of 2,400 Canadian children and demonstrated, experimentally, that the more time the child spent in front of the screens at 2 and 3 years of age, the worse their performance at 4 and 5 years. years.
The research explored the child’s progress in 5 domains, listed below:
- Communication.
- Gross motor skills
- Fine motor skills.
- Problem resolution
- Social skills.
For example, to assess communicative mastery, the child was asked if he could form four-word sentences or identify common parts of the body.
Meanwhile, for motor skills they were asked to stand on their feet or put beads on a string. Then it was determined that the more time these children spent in front of the screens, the worse their results were in these exercises.
Scientists state that, during the first 5 years of life, a person’s brain is very sensitive to stimuli. This is known as the critical period, which is very important for the growth and maturation of the individual.
Consequences of excessive exposure to screens in children
Everything seems to indicate that excessive exposure to screens in children causes them to miss important opportunities. In general, it can interfere with the following:
- Social and communicative development (interacting with other people).
- Motor skills, promoting sedentary lifestyle.
- Development of ties with close people.
- Learning and emotional regulation.
When children are watching screens they may lose the ability to master interpersonal, motor and communication skills, as quoted verbatim in the aforementioned study.
This allows us to conclude something quite serious: excessive exposure to screens in children affects their development at all levels. That is, it can make them less intelligent, less skillful and less competent than those children who make a rational and responsible use of them.
Socioeconomic and gender variables
According to the study, girls tend to spend less time in front of screens and tend to obtain better scores than boys, in the 5 domains previously exposed.
On the other hand, the drastic decrease in group games is worrying, which until recently were the main source of reinforcement and social-emotional learning in children. The excess of exposure to the screens is banishing individual and group play in the little ones.
Another significant finding from the study is that preschool children who received more readings, exercised more, slept more, or had parents with lower levels of depression performed much better.
Also, it was observed that people of the lowest socioeconomic level were those who most favored excessive exposure to screens in children. Consequently, the minors of these populations were the most affected.
Children suffer consequences from exposure to screens
Although in the last decade many researchers have demonstrated with scientific evidence the harmful consequences of excess exposure to screens in children, this study has shown important results. For the first time, a large study, with 2400 subjects, demonstrates a direct relationship between screens and worse development.
