Spending lengthy periods of times on screens is associated with developmental delays in young children, new research has revealed.
For children aged two, increased screen time when aged one is associated with developmental delays in all domains apart from gross motor skills.
By the age of four, increased screen time is associated with developmental delays in primarily the communication and problem-solving domains.
The study, from Tohoku University and Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, came after recent evidence published by the World Health Organization and the American Academy of Pediatrics suggested that only a minority of children are meeting guidelines for limiting screen time exposure.
The guidelines were designed to ensure that children engage in sufficient physical activity and social interaction.
“The rapid proliferation of digital devices, alongside the impact of the COVID pandemic, has markedly increased screen time for children and adolescents, but this study does not simply suggest a recommendation for restricting screen time,” says epidemiologist Taku Obara, corresponding author of the study.
“This study suggests an association, not causation between screen time and developmental delay.”
The research examined 7,097 mother-child pairs participating in the Tohoku Medical Megabank Project Birth and Three-Generation Cohort Study.
Each child’s screen time exposure was assessed using parental questionnaires, covering viewing of televisions, video game displays, tablets, mobile phones and other electronic devices with visual displays.
The children in the study were almost evenly split between boys (51.8 per cent) and girls (48.2 per cent). Their screen time exposure was assigned to the categories of less than one hour (48.5 per cent of subjects), from one to less than two hours (29.5 per cent), from two to less than four hours (17.9 per cent), and four or more hours (4.1 per cent).
The children’s development was assessed at two and four years of age in the five domains of communication, gross motor, fine motor, problem solving, and personal and social skills.
Previous studies in the field have generally not broken development down into different domains, therefore offering a less refined view.
The association between screen time at age one and later developmental delay was assessed using an established statistical technique, revealing a dose-response association; meaning that the level of developmental delay (the response) was correlated to the amount (dose) of screen time.
“The differing levels of developmental delays in the domains, and the absence of any detected delay in some of them at each stage of life examined, suggests that the domains should be considered separately in future discussions of the association between screen time and child development,” says Obara.
“We use the term ‘delay’ in accordance with previous research, but it is debatable whether this difference in development is really a ‘delay’ or not.
“We would like to gain deeper insight in future studies by examining the effects of different types of screen exposure.”
