By Aaron Allen, The Seattle Medium
As smartphones, tablets and other digital media become a larger part of children’s lives, health experts say parents should look beyond how many hours children spend in front of screens and consider what they are watching, how they are using devices and what screen time may be replacing in their daily lives.
Dr. Christopher McCormick, a clinical psychologist at Seattle Children’s Odessa Brown Children’s Clinic, said guidance around children’s screen use has evolved as researchers have learned more about how different types of digital media and patterns of use can affect development.
“Early on, when we as a profession were thinking about this, we didn’t know a lot, so there was guidance around specific time limits,” said McCormick. “As we’ve gotten more evidence, we know that not all screen time is created equal. The quality of content, the developmental period, and how kids consume digital media matter for how it impacts their overall social-emotional development.”
That distinction has become increasingly important as digital devices have become integrated into children’s education, entertainment and social lives.
Research has associated high levels of screen exposure in children with differences in areas including language development, attention, sleep and some measures of brain development. However, the effects can vary depending on a child’s age, the type of content being consumed, whether screen use is passive or interactive and how much digital media displaces activities such as sleep, exercise, reading and face-to-face interaction.
Researchers have also used brain imaging to examine possible relationships between screen use and the developing brain. Some studies have found associations between higher screen use and differences in the cerebral cortex, which is involved in functions including language, memory and attention, as well as white matter pathways that help different regions of the brain communicate. Researchers continue to study what those associations mean and whether other factors may contribute to the differences.
For McCormick, one area of concern involves the way some social media, video games and other digital experiences provide frequent and immediate rewards.
“Some social media and video gaming can impact how the brain processes rewards and starts to expect them much more quickly,” explained McCormick. “Because of instant gratification, this can have bigger implications for patience, self-inhibition, and emotion regulation.”
McCormick said reward systems involving dopamine are also relevant when considering when digital media use becomes problematic.
“The reward systems impacted by dopamine are associated with addiction. While there isn’t a single formal diagnostic label for screen addiction, when we look at general dependence, problematic use occurs when someone continues an activity even when knowing it causes harm or negative outcomes,” said McCormick.
Experts say the type of screen use also matters. A child spending an hour scrolling through short videos is having a different experience from one spending that hour creating digital art, video chatting with a grandparent or working through an interactive educational activity.
Parent involvement can add another dimension by allowing adults to talk with children about what they are seeing and help them connect digital content with experiences outside the screen.
For younger children, that distinction can be particularly important because language and social development depend heavily on interactions in which children communicate back and forth with parents, caregivers and others. Passive media does not provide the same reciprocal interaction, making it important to consider whether screen use is replacing conversation, play and other experiences that contribute to early development.
Sleep is another concern. Screen use, particularly close to bedtime, can interfere with sleep routines, while time spent on devices late at night can reduce the amount of sleep children receive. Adequate sleep plays an important role in learning, memory, emotional regulation and overall health.
Rather than relying on a single number of allowable screen hours for every child, McCormick encourages families to consider what he describes as the “Five C’s”: Child, Content, Calm, Crowding Out and Communication.
“Child” means considering an individual child’s temperament and how that child responds to and transitions away from devices. “Content” focuses on what children are actually consuming and whether it is appropriate and constructive. “Calm” asks parents to consider whether screens have become a child’s primary way of coping with difficult emotions.
“Crowding Out” focuses on whether device use is replacing other important activities, including physical movement, outdoor play, reading, sleep and face-to-face social interaction. “Communication” emphasizes talking with children about what they consume, co-viewing media when appropriate and establishing clear expectations around device use.
The framework moves the discussion beyond the question of whether screens themselves are inherently harmful and toward how digital media fits into a child’s overall development.
The question of balance has also become increasingly important for technology companies as families use digital devices for education, communication and entertainment.
Eleni Rachaniotou, Microsoft’s chief technology officer and innovation lead for Enterprise Partner Solutions, said families may benefit more from a parent-guided approach than from simply prohibiting screens.
“It is not about only a safe number of screen time hours, it is about a more balanced, parent-guided approach rather than screen prohibition alone,” explained Rachaniotou.
She also pointed to opportunities to combine technology with other forms of activity rather than treating digital and physical experiences as mutually exclusive.
“When designs blend physical and digital play, that triggers better child interaction and development,” said Rachaniotou.
For families trying to establish healthier digital habits, the broader approach described by the experts includes preserving time for sleep, physical activity, reading and face-to-face interaction; paying attention to the quality and purpose of digital content; participating in children’s media experiences when possible; and setting household expectations around when and where devices are used.
McCormick said there is no single approach that will work for every child or household, and families can adjust their habits as children grow and their circumstances change.
“There are no universal rules that are true for every family and every situation. We recognize the benefits of starting early and building healthy habits, but it is also never too late to start reshaping and changing patterns,” said McCormick.
