Recently, there seems to be increasing public awareness that many children are on screens way too much. But few people really know the full story about the physical and psychological effects.
The Ministry of Health recommends less than 2 hrs. per day of passive screen time, but the ‘Growing Up In New Zealand’ study (based on almost 60 eight-year-olds) found that children of this age are viewing screens for an average of 3 hours per day (not including screen time at school). For further information, check out these links:
Now we are eight report reveals unique insight into eight-year olds
NZ kids spend a third of after-school time on screens, call for urgent online regulations
Recently, there seems to be increasing public awareness that many children are on screens way too much. But few people really know the full story about the physical and psychological effects.
Reviews of the scientific research have noted a range of adverse psychological effects of excessive screen time. For example, a review in the Cureus Journal of Medical Science in October 2022 highlighted the following effects:
Reference: “Increased Screen Time as a Cause of Declining Physical, Psychological Health and Sleep Patterns: A Literary Review. Cureus Journal of Medical Science, October 2022
For further information, check out these links:
The impact of screens in early childhood – New research
Study Probes Connection Between Excessive Screen Media Activity and Mental Health Problems in Youth
There are some fairly obvious adverse physical effects of excessive screen time. The more screen time, the less movement and this has implications for health, e.g increased risk of obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Another unsurprising effect is an increased risk of myopia.
Much less obvious but potentially even more serious are health effects from exposure to the pulsed, microwave-frequency radiation from wireless devices such as mobile phones, laptops, iPads etc. For further information, see the ‘research’ section on this site.
