{"id":42400,"date":"2021-03-30T18:53:42","date_gmt":"2021-03-30T18:53:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.humanium.org\/en\/?p=42400"},"modified":"2025-12-14T04:30:24","modified_gmt":"2025-12-14T04:30:24","slug":"do-screens-hijack-childrens-attention-spans-understanding-the-impact-of-screen-time-on-child-development","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.humanium.org\/en\/do-screens-hijack-childrens-attention-spans-understanding-the-impact-of-screen-time-on-child-development\/","title":{"rendered":"Do Screens Hijack Children\u2019s Attention Spans? Understanding the Impact of Screen Time on Child Development"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

As the world continues to evolve, <\/strong>children<\/strong><\/a> are no longer exempt from the increasingly wide reaches of technological innovation. Gone are the days when children would solely dream of green grass and imaginative outdoor games. Today, many <\/strong>children<\/strong><\/a> are closely familiar with the online world from an infantile age. This exposure to the Internet can have both positive and negative impacts on <\/strong>child development,<\/strong><\/a> necessitating greater study to better understand the effects of Internet exposure on child wellbeing.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is Screen Time?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

With Internet content seeping into child-accessible, portable devices such as phones and tablets, it is harder than ever to sufficiently supervise child Internet activity<\/a> and monitor its impact (McDool, 2020). Though definitions of screen time are typically broad and varied (Wheelwright, 2020), Merriam-Webster defines screen time as the \u201ctime spent watching television, playing a video game, or using an electronic device with a screen (such as a smartphone or tablet) (Merriam-Webster).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Challenge<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The current generation of children<\/a> are growing up in a complex digital ecosystem with varying mental health impacts<\/a> that require further study (Granic, 2020). Children\u2019s interaction with screens is a vitally important topic because of the time children spend on these devices and the ambiguity of their effects (McDool, 2020). Moreover, past research has focussed excessively on adolescents as opposed to young children, as well as the negative effects<\/a> of technology rather than the opportunities that it presents (Burns, 2019). Research in this area is often behind the curve, quickly overshadowed by new developments in the technological space which present new challenges and opportunities for children (Burns, 2019).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Despite this, it is clear the younger segment of millennials are the first to have grown up using, and interacting with, digital media (Granic, 2020). Recent studies in the United Kingdom, for example, suggest that two-year-olds spend over two hours a day interacting with screens, with this number jumping beyond three for three-year-olds (Roberts, 2019). In this new technology-filled generation, there is no longer a detachment between child\u2019s physical experiences and their digital ones, as devices are present in nearly all day-to-day interactions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Given the sensitivity and importance of a child\u2019s early years, it is crucial that parents and carers are able to identify the risks digital exposure carries and act accordingly. Digital devices are designed to serve multiple functions, including socialisation, working, communication, entertainment and organisation, among others (Granic, 2020). Given the wide range of purposes that technology now plays in our lives, merely restricting digital interactions is an insufficient response. Modern child-protection<\/a> efforts have to develop a deeper understanding of the impact of digital technologies and media on children\u2019s development<\/a> and couple this with innovative methods to better support children\u2019s growth<\/a> in the modern world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is in this spirit that organisations are beginning to design and implement policy guidelines to guard children against the harms of the digital age. The Commission on Ending Childhood Obesity has called for \u201cclear guidance on physical activity, sedentary behaviour and sleep in young children\u201d, in response to modern child lifestyles. Institutions such as the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) have published recommendations that children between the ages of two and five spend less than one hour per day engaged with a screen to promote a healthy sleep and exercise schedule among other reasons (Reichel, 2019). The World Health Organisation\u2019s (WHO) 2019 Guidelines re-emphasise the importance of physical activity, quality sleep and reduced sedentary time for children (WHO, 2019). Specifically, the Guidelines conclude with recommendations which state (WHO, 2019):<\/p>\n\n\n\n