Screentime and Children’s Health

Source: healthytechhome.org/screentime-and-childrens-health/
October 2023

OVEREXPOSURE TO SCREENS IS IMPACTING OUR CHILDREN'S HEALTH
Protective policy is urgently needed.

Increasing Screentime
Screen use in children and teens has escalated to unprecedented levels. In 2020, the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry estimated that on average, children ages 8-12 in spend 4-6 hours a day watching or using screens, and teens spend up to 9 hours.

Social Media
A 2022 Pew Research Center survey found 35% of teens are “nearly constantly” on at least one of the top five social media platforms: YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat, and Facebook. Yet research indicates that adolescents who spend more than 3 hours per day using social media may be at heightened risk for mental health problems,

Brain Changes
The largest long-term study of brain development and youth health in the U.S., the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study, funded by NIH with 21 research sites across the country, analyzing brain scans of over 4,000 children who use electronic devices for seven hours or more each day have premature thinning of the brain cortex, the outer brain layer that processes information from the five physical senses (taste, touch, sight, smell and sound).

A 2022 Cincinnati Children’s hospital study also found differences in multiple brain regions associated with higher levels of digital media. These are just a few of the studies associating higher screen time with underdeveloped and altered brain development.

See further the link at the top



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