Screen Time: The Impact on Kids and Parenting

New research explains the significant negative effects of excessive screen time.

Posted August 19, 2018

Parents often worry about the amount of time their child is spending on electronics and how it is affecting their social skills, motivation , attention , emotional regulation , and neurological functioning. Given the easy access to multiple modes of media (TV, iPads, computers, phones, etc.), electronics have become the "go to" in quiet moments. Screen time has also become the primary source of information and entertainment for children. Hence, these concerns are valid, particularly in light of the American Pediatric Association’s estimate that children in the U.S. spend an average of 7 hours a day on media devices.

A critical question to ask is whether screen time affects neurological functioning (which can effect psychological and behavioral functioning), and if so what is the impact? There has been a significant amount of research conducted on this topic in recent years that shows the following evidence:

The Social and Emotional Effects:

The Neurobiological Effects on the Developing Brain:

Screen Addiction can also lead to:

The research strongly suggests that human to human, hands on interaction is the most beneficial for a child’s socio-emotional development, as screen time could impair empathy, communication, cognitive functioning, emotional regulation, sleep, attention, and brain development. Perhaps the next important step is for parents, teachers, and professionals to be better informed on how to manage screen time for their children from infancy to young adulthood. Many parents continue to struggle with managing electronics with their children which often leads to:

Impact on Parenting :

There are ways to decrease power struggles, family conflicts, and helplessness by restricting your child's screen time in healthy ways. Here are some possibilities:

In sum, the research suggests that excessive screen time has a direct and negative effect on frontal lobe structure and functioning, and can also be addictive given the changes in dopamine functioning and receptors. Since this area of a child’s brain undergoes critical development until young adulthood, it makes sense that parents and professionals are concerned about the mass consumption of electronics by children. Parents, schools, pediatricians, professionals, and researchers need to continue to pay close attention to and intervene with screen time in structured and consistent ways across domains to foster the healthy bio-psycho-social development of our children.

www.aspiringfamilies.com/aspiring-families/investigating-the-effects-of…
www.kappanonline.org/rosen-distracted-student-mind-attention
Book: iGen: Why Today’s Super-Connected Kids Are Growing Up Less Rebellious, More Tolerant, Less Happy--and Completely Unprepared for Adulthood--and What That Means for the Rest of Us.

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Azmaira Maker, Ph.D. , is a licensed clinical psychologist and the author of two children's books on divorce and death.

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This article is part of the Bringwise Psychology Journal — daily insights on human behavior, mental health, and personal growth.