Written By: Upneet Pansare | Updated : October 31, 2018 10:00 AM IST
Keep your kids away from electronic screens! © Shutterstock
Excess screen time is associated with several health risks among kids. Kids these days use of electronic gadgets now more than ever. It is hardly surprising that the effects of excess screen time are being carefully studied by researchers across the globe. Now, a new study by the University of San Diego and the University of Georgia states that twice as many high (vs. low) users of screens had an anxiety or depression diagnosis, non-users and low users of electronic gadgets did not differ in well-being and that associations with well-being were larger for adolescents than for children. The study states that a growing proportion of children and adolescents' leisure time is spent with screens including smartphones, tablets, gaming consoles, and televisions, raising concerns about the effect of screen time on well-being among parents, health professionals, and educators. This is why it has been said that parents must limit children's daily screen time, with specific time limits for preschool children and that they should limit screen time for older children and adolescents.
Excess screen time has been associated with obesity, lack of exercise, vision problems and depression in kids. This new study noted that children and adolescents who spent more time using screen media were lower in psychological well-being than low users. High users of screens were significantly more likely to display poor emotion regulation (not staying calm, arguing too much, being difficult to get along with), an inability to finish tasks, lower curiosity, and more difficulty making friends. Among adolescents, high (vs. low) users were also twice as likely to have received diagnoses of depression or anxiety or needed treatment for mental or behavioural health conditions. Non-users generally did not significantly differ in well-being from low users of screens.
