There are many studies and investigations currently being carried out to combat the issues beginning to rise as a result of growing up in a Global Pandemic. The consensus among child development experts is that an increase of screen time during Lockdown has only exacerbated the rapidly growing issue of digital use amongst young children. In 2019, the World Health Organisation (WHO) released guidelines for parents which recommended that infants under 2 years old should ideally have 1 hour to no screen time and children aged between 3 to 4 years should spend no more than 1 hour on digital devices like iPads. The American Academy of Paediatrics recommends that children between 5 to 10 years old should spend a maximum of 2 hours online.
However, these recommendations have been greatly exceeded in present years. One reason for this was online learning with most primary school aged children spending 3.5 hours on average interacting with digital devices a day for educational purposes. This total is understandable as online learning was unavoidable due to the circumstances. However, an investigation conducted by Childwise this year found that most children were still spending an average of nearly 3 hours online on weekdays after school and 5 hours a day on average at the weekend. I think that this data should also be taken with a grain of salt, as many participants may feel embarrassed to admit the true screen time total logged. Therefore, the total hours may be higher.
A study at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital has highlighted that a child’s brain is more acutely at risk to the effects of digital use. The researchers were able to compare MRI brain scans of children aged between 3 to 6 years old and found that those who had logged more than 1 hour of screen time a day had lower levels of development in the brain’s white matter. White matter is a key area of the brain for the development of language, literacy and cognitive skills; therefore, it is vital to a child’s social development. The U.S. National Institute of Health came to a similar conclusion, finding that children who spent more than 5 hours online a day presented with a thinning of the brain’s cortex. The brain’s cortex is responsible for managing critical thinking and reasoning.
(Above) White matter (blue) present in MRI scan of child with less than < 1 hour screen time
(Above) Little presence of white matter (blue) in MRI of child with > 1 hour screen time
The World Health Organisation also recommended in its 2019 report, that parents should make an effort to decrease their sedentary time. Sedentary time is defined as the time spent sitting or lying down and therefore, not participating in the physical activity required to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Unfortunately, most digital interactions including online schooling, video games and scrolling through social medias typically require the user to be seated to fully engage with the product. With the NHS reporting a 4.5% average increase in child obesity rates, it is important that schools and parents work to encourage children to take part in physical activity to prevent the risk of health problems associated with poor fitness.
Child health experts have also found that an increase of screen time during the Pandemic has led to a rise of Childhood Myopia. Myopia is the medical term for near sightedness, meaning distant objects appear blurry to the individual. A study conducted in China of 120,000 children found that the prevalence of Myopia was three time higher in 2020 (i.e., the middle of lockdown) compared to the five preceding years. The researchers found the changes coincided with a reduction in outdoor time from about one hour and 16 minutes a day to 24 minutes a day, and an increase in screen time from two and a half hours to seven hours daily.
With the CDC reporting a 24% increase of mental health-related ER visits from March to October 2020 for children aged between 5 to 11 years old, we should also consider the mental health risks associated with increased screen time among children. A study at the University of Alberta found that five year olds who spent more than 2 hours a day online were 5 times more likely to reported by their parents as exhibiting symptoms of ADHD than their peers logging 30 minutes or less online. The study also found that kids who spent 2 or more hours a day online were 64% less likely to get the recommended 10 hours of sleep a night. A lack of sleep can lead to poor concentration, irritability and anxiety – all of which, will inevitably affect both a young child’s schoolwork and their relationships.
One of the most effective ways we can reduce young children’s time online is to encourage kids to put down their devices and take part in outdoor play and exercise. The benefits to being outdoors are endless: fresh airs clears your head and reduces stress levels; it promotes socialising with family and friends; and involves physical exercise – reducing sedentary time and childhood obesity rates.
However – even when taking the months of lockdown into consideration, according to Save the Children: only 27% of young people say they regularly play outside. This is despite a survey conducted by the Wildlife Trust which found 83% of 450 schoolchildren felt happier after spending time in the outdoors. Hence, it is more important than ever that we find new ways to make exploring the outdoors engaging and exciting for young people.