How Screen Time is Affecting You and Your Child's Mental and Physical Health

You probably already know that spending too much time with your digital gadgets can have a negative impact on work productivity and also interfere with your real-life interactions. However, new research shows that those are not even the worst repercussions that come with excessive screen time.

Rather, it is the mental and physical health hazards that are a bigger cause for concern. The most worrying part about these findings? It is not just adults who are impacted. Children and teenagers are also vulnerable to the detrimental effects of staring at a screen for prolonged periods of time.

What are the consequences?

Giving too much attention to digital screens weakens our brain's ability to process information, focus, make decisions and control thoughts. In a number of studies, brain scans of technology-addicted adolescents reveal significant anomalies in their brain structures: reduction in the volume of grey matter and striatum, deviation in white matter pathways in the brain network and cortical thinning. To the majority of us who are not well versed in the terminology of neuroscience, these are what the findings translate to:

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Weakening of the Brain's Cognitive Functions

Reduction in grey matter and cortical thickness affects many of the executive functions related to the formulation, interpretation and processing of thoughts and information. As a result, too much screen time reduces the brain's ability to handle activities such as planning and organising. Clearly, this could spell trouble for learning and productivity-related matters.

Lower Impulse Control

The loss in volume of the striatum can result in a weakened ability to manage one's behaviour because this nucleus is an essential part of our brain's motor and reward system. A decline in our impulse control is really worrying because we could end up being trapped in a vicious cycle of screen addiction.

Slower or Inaccurate Emotional Processing

Altered white matter pathways in the brain lead to disrupted communication within the various parts of the brain because white matter connects brain centres responsible for different brain functions. Compromised white matter is one of the main symptoms of an internet addiction disorder, a condition that recognises serious screen addiction for its noticeable and damaging impacts on one's daily life. 

To adults, these findings may not be particularly worrying because our thought and emotion processing abilities are already well-developed, but what about our kids?

Why the Consequences are Even More Severe for Children?

Because children's minds and bodies are still developing, the effects of screen addiction are exacerbated. Research is uncovering evidence that excess screen time impairs learning, causes physical problems and also leads to mental health disorders.

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Impaired Learning

A South Korean study found that toddlers who spent more hours facing screens were slower in learning languages while a separate study in Thailand provided evidence of behavioural control problems in toddlers who watched more TV.

Posture and Body Aches

Posture may seem like a minor issue, but using digital devices for hours strains your child's muscles, tendons and ligaments. Consequently, more children are visiting doctors to treat pain in their neck and back. If left uncorrected, bad posture could affect the shape of your child's spinal cord in the long run and also lead to permanent hunching.

Vision-related Problems

Computer eye syndrome is not unique to adults, it affects children too. It has been found that excessive screen time leads to eye strain and discomfort and poorer vision. Myopia rates are startlingly high in young children here, with 28% of primary one students and 65% of primary six students being myopic. 

Mental Health Issues

TRoo much social media can lead to distorted impressions of self and lowered self-esteem because the platforms trigger body image issues and cyber-bullying cases. Ultimately, excess screen time could lead to depression and anxiety in children and this is something definitely worth our concern.

What We Can Do to Help Ourselves

Before we consider how to stop our children from getting addicted to their screens, we have to manage our own screen time. 

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Dr Richard Swinbourne, PhD., a senior sport dietitian and sleep scientist at Singapore Sport Institute, believes in being proactive when it comes to minimising unnecessary screen exposure. The senior sport dietitian and sleep scientist recommends tips such as creating media-free time windows throughout the day, holding walk-and-talk meetings at work, having a no-phones-at-the-table rule during family mealtimes, and removing televisions from the bedroom. Screen time is inactivity personified, and the saying 'hills hurt, but couches kill' is indeed true, he says.

How We Can Help Our Children

After taking the first steps to limit your own screen time, you're now in a better position to tell your kids to follow mummy or daddy and put that device away! How much screen time your child should get and the level of supervising you should administer really depends on your child's age. Generally, the younger your child is, the less screen time you should allow, especially unsupervised screen time.

• • If your child is below 18 months: Avoid screen time as far as possible. They are too young to be addicted to digital devices and exposure to screens could negatively impact brain development.
  • If your child is between 18 to 36 months: Limit total screen use to less than one hour a day. Avoid screen use during mealtimes and one hour before bedtime.
  • If your child is between 4 to 6 years old: Keep a curfew on screen time.

Some Other General Guidelines

The no-screen rule during mealtimes and before bedtime need not apply to just yourself, but your kids too! Also, it is a good idea to vet all digital content before introducing it to them to prevent them from being exposed to material that could affect their emotional growth.

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Calls for us to reduce our digital device usage and cut back on screen time are increasing nowadays. The brain scan research results show us that doing so does not only benefit us. It's also for the good of our children, who are at risk of far more long-term damaging consequences than us. If you are having difficulties implementing cut-back measures or maintaining them, don't fret. Talk to us at Active Health Labs for more information and advice!