The Effects of Excessive Screen Time on Children

Last update: 10 April, 2023

Today, in the technological age, screens are the leading actors in our day-to-day lives. Also, for children and adolescents who, in the last decade, have increased their use exponentially. A lack of information causes parents to allow their children to use these devices from a really early age. In fact, they tend to believe that their educational content will help their children's development.

For this reason, it's advisable to make the population aware of the negative implications associated with excessive screen time in children. Furthermore, the importance of interaction with the real world for a child to develop adequately. Next, we’ll take a closer look at the subject to provide clarity in the framework of education and new technologies.

When we talk about screen time, we mean viewing time on various types of screens. For example, computers, TVs, video games, phones, and tablets. It's been associated with both health benefits and risks in children and adolescents.

Some of the benefits of using screens include exposure to new teaching methods that may be more in line with a natural learning style, more opportunities for social contact, and easier access to health promotion messages and information.

On the other hand, the risks include negative health effects with respect to weight, sleep, and mood, exposure to inappropriate or unsafe contact and content, and compromised privacy and confidentiality.

Next, we’ll explain more extensively some of the effects that occur when a child spends an inordinate amount of time in front of a screen. These effects directly challenge the daily dynamics and the internal and external development of the family environment.

The fact that children talk about their TV watching time with their parents affects the quality of reception of the messages. Children who have clear limits for the consumption of content on screens present a higher level of activity with the medium. In addition, they understand more clearly the values and counter values that are introduced in the images. They’re also more skillful when it comes to differentiating reality from fiction.

On the contrary, those who don't usually talk to their parents about it and, therefore, don't have any guidelines, tend to confuse the interpretation of meanings. For this reason, in order to achieve the quality television that they want, parents have to become aware of the importance for them to act as guides with regard to the content that their children watch.

It should be noted that, as a rule, most children state that they tend to adapt to their parents’ television preferences more than their parents do to theirs. Evidence that supports this is that few parents watch cartoons with their children. This is contrary to what happens, for example, with news programs – the kind of content that children don't usually like much.

Consequently, some questions remain open, such as: Why do parents say they don't have time to watch television with their children when the amount of time that they watch TV exceeds that of their children by more than an hour? Why are parents not interested in what their children are watching when they watch programs the children don't even like with them?

The American Academy of Pediatrics makes the following recommendations for parents:

"The Internet is built by you, together with many others, so together we must make it a safe and positive place. The use you make of technology will tell who you are, tell the best and worst of you, and will be the key to having a life – real and digital – intelligent, fun, and useful."

-Maria Zabala-

The Canadian Pediatric Society mentions that the quality of screen time is as important as the quantity. It recommends advising parents to be present and participate when their children use screens. Furthermore, they should be encouraged to use educational, active, and social applications over those that are passive and lonely. All of these suggestions contribute to a child's overall healthier development.

The excessive use of screens has a detrimental cost to the mental health of children. They can suffer anxiety, stress, and even depression.