In our fast-paced digital society, children are surrounded by technology. Screens—from computers and TVs to phones and tablets have transformed how we communicate, study, and live. Despite its benefits, the digital revolution has a downside. Technology has helped children, but it has also hampered their physical and emotional development. As technology advances, our kids are often entirely immersed in screens. Young children are constantly surrounded by screens, giving knowledge, entertainment, and social contact. In a world that revolves around technology children will grow surrounded by it, despite the benefits of technology today, it does more harm to a developing child mentally and physically than it does good.
Screen time is vital to modern childhood because children spend more time on smartphones. Understanding what influences children’s screen time intentions and behaviors is essential to improving their habits. A person’s behavioral beliefs are their views about a behavior’s effects. These notions influence youngsters’ screen use and intentions. Children base their decisions on screen time, pros and cons. More screen time can result from favorable behavioral assumptions. Young people are likelier to use screens for extended durations if they think it will entertain, educate, and socialize them. However, if they believe screen time is harmful or ineffective, they may limit it. Negative screen time beliefs can include eye strain, physical inactivity, and sleep disturbances. Normative beliefs affect a child’s awareness of what significant others expect from them regarding screen time. Essential others include parents, friends, teachers, and the public.
Comparing juvenile bone mass loss to screen time shows children’s bone health is at risk. Screen time can lead to sedentary lifestyles and insufficient activity, affecting children’s bones. Screen time promotes long periods of sitting or lying down and takes up time that could be spent playing, running, or jumping. Lack of exercise may hinder bone formation during these crucial years. Screen time may also lead to poor snacking and low calcium intake, which is essential for bone health. Screen time reduces children’s bone mass, especially when combined with inactivity and poor diet (Rosengren).
Recently, concerns over screen time’s consequences on youngsters’ development have grown. Research shows that infants under 36 months or three years old are especially susceptible to the adverse effects of excessive screen use, which can lead to ADHD and ASD. Screen use is linked to ASD and ADHD in young children, according to several research. Too much screen time might replace in-person social ties and environmental involvement, essential for early development. Screen time might prevent babies from seeing and engaging with classmates and carers, which helps them develop social skills. Second, screen content, incredibly fast-paced and entertaining media, can overstimulate young minds, making it hard for them to focus (Hill et al.).
In this digital age, concerns over screen time’s effects on children’s development and mental health are mounting. Although screens have many benefits, excessive or incorrect usage can harm children. Screen time can harm cognitive development. Screen use can impair problem-solving, concentration, and memory. It may also limit creative play and hands-on learning, which is essential for intellectual growth. Screen use and a sedentary lifestyle increase the risk of obesity, poor posture, and muscle weakness. Insufficient exercise can also hinder motor development in youngsters. Screen time may impact social and emotional development. It could reduce in-person encounters and isolation, hindering social skill development. Children who are exposed to improper content may also demonstrate greater anxiety and aggression.
Khouja asserts that young people are frequently exposed to edited, idealized portrayals of other people’s lives on social media platforms, which creates a culture of comparison. Constant exposure to apparently ideal lives could aggravate melancholy, social anxiety, and inadequate emotions. Emotionally stressful pressure to live up to these online ideals could be encountered. Cyberbullying is a sort of harassment that occurs through digital channels, and it can be introduced to young people through online encounters. Because online is anonymous, bullies may feel more confident in their acts, which can cause victims significant emotional distress and even depression and anxiety. Because screens create blue light, using them incredibly shortly before bed can interfere with sleep cycles. Lack of sleep is a known risk factor for mental health disorders, such as higher anxiety and symptoms of depression.
It is vital to appreciate the association between screen time exposure and modified sleep patterns in young children diagnosed with epilepsy since it poses different challenges and demands attention for this susceptible group. Sleep difficulties are a reported side effect of epilepsy, a neurological disorder typified by repeated convulsions, which may be exacerbated worse by excessive screen time (Lin et al. 355). Because seizures in children with epilepsy are unpredictable, sleep interruptions are typical. Cognitive impairment, emotional changes, and daily exhaustion could occur from these pauses. Furthermore, screens emit blue light, which interferes with circadian cycles; increased screen time can make these sleep troubles worse. Blue light from displays can alter the body’s melatonin production, a hormone that controls sleep-wake processes.
The way that adults use screens shapes their opinions about how much time children should spend on screens. Children look forward to adults as role models, and they pick up on their screen-time behaviors from them. Children view it as normal behavior when adults use screens for extended periods of time, whether for work, play, or social interactions. In this way, parents’ screen-time habits may subtly support allowing kids more screen time. Adults’ personal opinions and ideals around technology use can have a significant impact on how they feel about limiting kids’ screen time, according to Schoeppe et al.
Advocating for balanced screen time usage in children is more probable among adults who have discovered a healthy balance between screen time and other activities. They are more inclined to stress sleep, social connection, and physical exercise when imposing screen time limits because they recognize how vital these things are (Buckleitner). Furthermore, parents who actively address screen time, media content, and its influence on their kids are more likely to be proactive in establishing and implementing screen time limits. They value media literacy and assist youngsters in choosing digital content. Today’s culture of computers, tablets, cellphones, and other digital gadgets raises concerns about children spending too much time on screens. This tendency threatens children’s physical and emotional well-being in many ways.
Educational technology can boost learning but can increase screen time. Due to the rise of interactive learning games, educational apps, and online courses, children may spend too much time on screens. Balancing traditional and digital learning methods is critical to minimize screen time’s negative impacts (Schoeppe et al). Social media allows kids to chat with classmates, share experiences, and stay up with trends. However, excessive social media use can lead to anxiety, insomnia, and cyberbullying. Parental management over younger children’s screen time is crucial. Screen time and other activities must be balanced for healthy growth in the digital age. Parents can set screen time limits for academics. A distraction-free setting helps kids focus on school without being enticed by devices. Setting aside a time and location for schooling and keeping devices out of the way may help create healthy study habits and limit screen time. To reduce their kids’ screen time, parents can provide fun non-TV activities (Varadarajan et al.). Please encourage them to explore their interests, craft, sketch, and read to keep them busy and interested. With a media-free mealtime policy, parents may create a family setting where members can talk about their days and share memories.
According to Hamilton et al., parents can monitor their kids and set gadget use rules. Regularity is vital to screen time management. Parents must create and enforce realistic, age-appropriate screen time limits. Teaching kids when and how to use electronics promotes order and boundaries. Different devices have parental control features and tools to assist parents in limiting screen time. These technologies let parents monitor their children’s internet use, set time limits, and filter inappropriate information. These sites help parents balance screen time and other activities.
In conclusion, this comprehensive study of the impact of excessive screen time on kids’ growth and well-being shows that screens are a vital part of modern childhood, offering opportunities and challenges. Long-term or incorrect usage of digital gadgets called “excessive screen time,” harms children’s cognitive, physical, and mental development. Screen time often leads to poor attention spans, problem-solving skills, and critical and creative thinking in children. Screen time can promote a sedentary lifestyle that can result in physical health problems like obesity, bad posture, and weakening muscles.
Works Cited
Buckleitner, Warren. “SETTING LIMITS ON Screen Time.” Scholastic Parent & Child04 2006: 38-9. ProQuest. Web. 25 Oct. 2023.
Hamilton, Kyra, et al. “A Psychosocial Analysis of Parents’ Decisions for Limiting their Young Child’s Screen Time: An Examination of Attitudes, Social Norms and Roles, and Control Perceptions.” British Journal of Health Psychology, vol. 21, no. 2, 2016, pp. 285-301.
Hill, Monique M., et al. “Screen Time in 36-Month-Olds at Increased Likelihood for ASD and ADHD.” Infant Behavior & Development, vol. 61, 2020, pp. 101484-101484.
Jasminder, K. “Impact of Screen Time on Child Development & Mental Health. “Malaysian Family Physician, vol. 17, 2022, pp. 8-8.
Khouja, Jasmine N., et al. “Is Screen Time Associated with Anxiety or Depression in Young People? Results from a UK Birth Cohort.” BMC Public Health 19 (2019) ProQuest. Web. 25 Oct. 2023.
Lin, Ying‐Ying, et al. “Screen Time Exposure and Altered Sleep in Young Children with Epilepsy.” Journal of Nursing Scholarship, vol. 52, no. 4, 2020, pp. 352-359.
Melkevik, Ole, et al. “Is Spending Time in Screen-Based Sedentary Behaviors Associated with Less Physical Activity: A Cross National Investigation.” International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity 7 (2010): 46. ProQuest. Web. 24 Oct. 2023.
Rosengren, Björn E., et al. “Downturn in Childhood Bone Mass: A Cross‐Sectional Study Over Four Decades.” JBMR Plus, vol. 6, no. 1, 2022, pp. e10564-n/a.
Schoeppe, Stephanie, et al. “How is Adults’ Screen Time Behavior Influencing their Views on Screen Time Restrictions for Children? A Cross-Sectional Study.” BMC Public Health 16 (2016): 1. ProQuest. Web. 25 Oct. 2023.
Varadarajan, Samya, et al. “Prevalence of Excessive Screen Time and its Association with Developmental Delay in Children Aged <5 Years: A Population-Based Cross-Sectional Study in India.”PloS One, vol. 16, no. 7, 2021, pp. e0254102-e0254102.
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