Excessive screen use and its negative impact on children

The negative impact of excessive screen use on children, their mental health and behavior, and the appropriate time for each age to spend in front of screens

Today, there is no home free of various electronic devices, which leads to children being exposed to excessive screens due to their essential presence in our daily routine as adults and children, without the ability to do without them. Throughout our day, we work on computer screens, watch television, play on mobile phones and iPads, talk to our family and friends via video calls, or browse social networking sites.

We often let our children use screens to distract them from us, entertain them, or reward them, and we do not pay attention to the element of time used in front of screens. But have you thought about the relationship between a child’s use of screens and his lack of concentration, a decline in his academic level, or his reluctance to get along and participate in activities with the children around him, which may lead to him suffering from mental illness and behavioral problems?

In this article, we will learn about the negative impact of excessive screen use on children, their mental health and behavior, the appropriate time for each age to spend time in front of screens, how to control their situation and limit screen time so that it does not turn into electronic addiction.

There are many studies that have linked excessive exposure to screens to some negative effects on children’s behavior and mental health, such as:

- Lack of attention and concentration. Excessive exposure to screens may lead to distraction and difficulty concentrating in children, and this may negatively affect their academic and behavioral performance.

- Sleep disturbances: Extensive use of screens may cause sleep disturbances, affecting the quality of children’s sleep due to the effect of bright screens on the hormone melatonin, which plays a role in regulating sleep and relaxation, leading to disturbances in daytime behavior and attention.

- Increased aggression and depression: Some studies have linked excessive exposure to screens to an increase in emotional disorders, aggressive behavior and depression in children. Negative or influential content on the screen may affect the mood of children.

Impact on social communication: Excessive reliance on screens may reduce real-life social communication with friends and family, leading to a feeling of isolation and negatively affecting children’s ability to build social relationships and develop live communication skills.

Impact on brain development: There is a belief that excessive exposure to screens may affect brain development in early childhood

We do not neglect to mention the negative effects of excessive screen use on our children’s physical health, which our young people have long suffered from over the past years, which has had an impact on the health of some of them today, such as

- Eye strain after constantly focusing on screens, which results in eye irritation and possibly poor vision

- Excess weight. Long time in front of screens has been linked to increased chances of prolonged sitting and allergies to certain types of food, which increases the risk of obesity in children.

Lack of physical activity because excessive reliance on screens reduced the opportunities available for physical activity, which negatively affected cardiovascular and muscle health.

- Increased risk of neck and back problems as a result of constantly sitting in front of screens and unnatural curvature of the neck and back, which causes potential health problems in these areas.

- Effects on the development of children’s motor systems, especially if they spend a lot of time in an unhealthy sitting position.

- Low energy and activity because long time in front of screens leads to a feeling of fatigue and exhaustion

What is the optimal time period for children to use screens?

Limiting screen time for children is affected by several factors such as age, lifestyle, type of screen activity, and the purpose of screen use. There are some general guidelines recommended by medical associations and health institutions to control the use of screens for children. Children up to 2 years old are advised to avoid using screens except for high-quality educational and entertainment content directed to this age group. As for children from 2 to 5 years old, it is recommended to set a time limit of no more than two hours of screen time per day.

At six years old, there is no specific limit to screens, but emphasis should be placed on attention to balance. Screens are part of entertainment and learning for children, and should not replace physical, social, and creative outdoor activities such as sports, spending time with friends and relatives, doing some homework, reading, and playing outdoors, while being careful to stop using screens an appropriate period before bed to improve the quality of sleep and relaxation.

Starting from this age stage, it depends greatly on wisdom and moderation in children’s use of technology and directing them towards appropriate and useful content such as learning programming while reducing excessive exposure to screens and achieving a balance in use. You must take into consideration your child's individual needs and behaviors when determining the optimal duration of screen use because the goal is to provide a healthy, educational, and entertaining experience for the child without exposing him to excessive exposure to screens that may negatively affect his health and development. One study indicated that if a child spends more than two hours a day in front of a screen, it affects his grade in language and thinking tests, while a child who spends more than 7 hours suffers from thinning of the cerebral cortex, which is responsible for deductive skills and critical thinking.

What are the best activities to benefit from screen use for children?

Since the use of screens has become a tangible reality that cannot be changed and is irreversible because it is one of the characteristics of our time and it may take a long time to limit its use, why do we not think about investing the time that our children spend in front of them in a beneficial way by directing them to some activities that they can benefit from in a way that suits their talents and inclinations, as follows:

- Educational applications and games that provide fun and useful educational content for children, through which children can learn and interact with educational materials in an entertaining way.

- Watch educational content on the Internet, such as educational videos and lessons on school subjects. These videos can be useful in enhancing academic knowledge and skills.

- Interact with friends and family via screen such as video calls and voice chat. These activities enhance social communication and family relationships.

- Creativity and design: Children can use applications and programs to draw, design, and create short stories and films. These activities can have a positive impact on creativity and creative thinking.

- Sports activities and fitness applications that encourage children to practice sports activities online and motivate them to maintain their physical fitness.

Finally, we must realize that any obstacles to raising our children in a healthy and sound way must be faced with wisdom, away from the idea of ​​prevention, which has no longer borne fruit with the children of this generation, but instead we can help them make screen time a useful time to benefit from scientific and entertainment experiences in addition to trying to spend it Spend time with them away from screens, because this will protect them from the increasing danger of screens, and more importantly, it supports and strengthens our relationship with them, which has the greatest impact on their psychological and mental health