A massive new study found that increased screen time was linked to emotional challenges in children.
Researchers examined data from nearly 300,000 children across 117 long-term studies and found a two-way link between the duration kids spend on screens, like TVs and tablets, and their emotional and social health. Kids who spent more time glued to devices were found to be more aggressive and anxious and possess lower self-esteem later in life.
However, the reverse was also true. The researchers say that children already dealing with social challenges were more likely to turn to screen time.
Gaming consoles were found to have the strongest link to emotional and social problems, but the study did not identify a particular risk among more violent video games.
“Some studies broke the games down by whether they were violent, but our interpretation was that most parents knew to limit the amount of violent content to give kids under 10,” Dr. Michael Noetel, one of the study’s authors and associate professor of psychology at The University of Queensland, Australia, said to ABC News.
“Instead, [the] key finding was that gaming in general — regardless of the specific type — showed much stronger links to emotional problems than other screen activities like watching TV or using educational apps.”
The researchers focused on children aged 10 and under, allowing them to track them over time and establish potential cause-and-effect relationships. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, children between the ages of two and five should limit recreational screen time to no more than 60 minutes per day on weekdays, and three hours on weekends.
According to ABC News chief medical correspondent Dr. Tara Narula, more than four out of 10 kids ages eight to 12 use screens for more than four hours per day.
The negative impact of screens does not appear to end in childhood either. Last year, The Dallas Express reported on a poll that found 40% of teens aged 13 to 17 reported that smartphones made it harder for them to acquire good social skills.