A recent study conducted by experts from the Shanghai Children’s Medical Center, affiliated with Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, has uncovered a concerning link between prolonged screen exposure and increased mental health risks in kindergarten children. The findings, based on a three-year study involving nearly 16,000 kindergarten children in Shanghai, indicate that overexposure to electronic screens for more than an hour a day poses a significant risk, irrespective of the content viewed.
Published on the website of the journal JAMA Pediatrics, the research emphasizes that the mental health risk escalates with the duration of screen exposure, emphasizing the need for a careful approach to children’s screen time.
Contrary to expectations, the study revealed that children watching entertainment and non-child-directed programs faced greater mental health risks than those engaged in educational content. This challenges the assumption that the nature of the content viewed might mitigate potential harm.
Despite World Health Organization guidelines recommending limited screen exposure, the study found that screen exposure has become a norm starting at a very young age. The guidelines suggest children under 2 years avoid screen exposure, while those aged 2 to 5 should spend no more than an hour a day on average in front of screens.
Alarming statistics from the study indicate that 24 percent of children had screen exposure before reaching 1 year old, and 76 percent began regular screen exposure before the age of 2. Even among 3-year-olds entering kindergarten, a significant 78.6 percent had a daily average screen exposure exceeding the recommended guidelines.
Jiang Fan, one of the lead researchers, highlighted the importance of understanding the long-term impact of excessive screen exposure during infancy and early childhood. Previous research by the same group found that even if screen exposure decreases later, the adverse effects persist, affecting cognitive ability and psychological and behavioral development.
This new study aimed to discern whether the associations between excessive screen time and mental health risks differ based on the content viewed. The research team collected screen exposure time data when children were aged 3, 5, and 6, while parents reported on their mental health using a standardized questionnaire.
The study also uncovered that educational and entertainment video programs constitute the majority of content consumed by children in this age group. With growing social skills and needs, children’s use of social media is expected to increase as they age. However, experts caution that excessive use of social media can impair real-life interactions and communication skills, hindering the development of stable and healthy relationships.
As the research team explores the effects of early screen exposure on brain structure and development, experts urge parents to limit electronic device usage for children under 2 and to accompany and communicate with children aged 2 to 5 during screen time.