A Canadian study has found that children who spend a lot of time on screens are more prone to anxiety, depression, and aggression. During the pandemic, children’s screen time increased to about 6 hours a day, with some using devices 13 hours a day. Although this has fallen to an average of four hours, it is still double the amount of screen time recommended by the Canadian Pediatric Society.
Lead author Emma Duerden, the Canada research chair in Neuroscience and Learning Disorders, expressed her astonishment at these findings, acknowledging the crisis period that influenced the results. Further study during the pandemic led the researchers to discover a strong correlation between screen time use and feelings of anxiety and depression.
The researchers also found that high parental stress was related to increased anxious and depressive symptoms in children. Ms. Duerden expressed surprise at the strong association and noted that parent stress was a key predictor of screen time.
The research team hopes to continue working with study participants to further understand the issue. They plan to review additional research from around the world and noted that there is no one-size-fits-all solution to this global health issue in children.
In 2022, researchers identified a “weak but significant” association between screen time and behaviours like aggression as well as emotional issues in children. The team analyzed 87 eligible studies from 595 articles, totaling over 159,000 participants aged 12 or younger, and discovered the relationship between screen time and external and internal behaviour problems.
Studies have also found that screen time impacts children’s brain development. For example, excessive screen time is linked to “atrophy in the frontal, striatal, and insula cortex regions of the brain” and specifically reduction in the thickness of the orbitofrontal cortex. This thinning has been shown to significantly impact memory and can increase the incidence of obsessive-compulsive disorder.
The decline in executive functions, like remembering instructions, paying attention, controlling impulses, delaying gratification, and regulating social behaviour, is also a concern related to screen time. One study found that just one hour of screen time a day can cause diminished executive functions in children as young as 2 years old. Additionally, research published in Preventive Medicine Reports noted that just one hour per day of screen time in children and adolescents leads to less curiosity and self-control, and greater distractibility.