Universally, parents and educators are concerned about how much screentime for children qualifies as too much. A difficult question, considering the pandemic has forced school life into remote settings and drastically increased children’s’ screentime, but only a few reliable research studies have probed the potential danger of screentime and at best, have produced inconsistent results. This is unsurprising as mobile devices have only been available for a little over a decade and in widespread use for just a portion of that time.
The prevailing view is that too much screentime for children is bad, however, this statement is problematic as it is interpreted differently.
Some associate it with physical danger as it has been said that screen light damages children's eyes or holding a device will cause permanent neck or spinal damage.
Some worry about the possible neurological impact with it affecting attentional or executive function skills.
The bigger question guiding our decisions at Curious Learning has always been, ‘Can mobile devices promote learning?’ If yes, then we believe we have a responsibility to provide effective and engaging learning experiences that can be delivered to the device that children already have in their homes. This is particularly helpful for children without access to schools or who have trouble learning in their school setting.
“For some children, a mobile device, such as a smartphone, is their only connection to an education and all the advantages that come with understanding math and being literate. At the same time, we would not want to promote screentime if it was dangerous.”
What classifies as screentime?
In some sense, it is obvious that screentime refers to time spent in front of a computer, laptop, smartphone or tablet. However, it is difficult to determine whether it is safe or dangerous for children as most studies fail to distinguish between passive or active engagement. Personally, I spend a great deal of time in front of a screen but it’s split between working, doing yoga (guided by a YouTube video), cooking recipes from food blogs or binging a favourite show. These activities vary widely in the degree of user engagement, which is the key to understanding debates around constructive versus unconstructive screentime for children.
“Whenever children are asked to participate and engage with the media, that time is better spent than passively watching media.”
Exploring the concern of brain development
One study, conducted by Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, reported that higher amounts of screentime in 4-7-year-old children were associated with less connectivity in the brain areas important for learning to read and academic achievement. The children’s parents were asked to share the amount of time their children spent in front of screens and children completed cognitive testing and brain scans.
Although the study provides insights and raises some concern, it is limited and illustrates the confusion around the meaning of screentime. Firstly, the study was quite small, only 47 children participated, and all were from middle to high-income families. Furthermore, no distinction was made in distinguishing between the type of screentime, meaning that watching TV had the same rating as playing an interactive game. The authors also acknowledged that the questionnaire was highly subjective and there is no way of knowing exactly how much or what kind of media the children consumed. Moreover, there is no way of knowing if differences in language or cognitive skills would have been present in the children even if they had never touched a tablet. Further research would be necessary to support this study, but as of yet, there does not seem to be firm evidence that excessive screentime results in different brain development.
The case for the benefits of screentime
In the same breath, increasing evidence shows that mobile device activities can be beneficial for children. Curious Learning’s app, Feed the Monster, showed positive learning outcomes in Syrian children living in refugee camps who were learning to read in Arabic. Recently, a study conducted in Massachusetts, found that playing Khan Academy’s literacy games for 20 minutes a day raised language and literacy scores in 4-5-year-old kids from low-income homes, up to the national average level. More than one study has shown that toddlers who were read electronic books showed increased attention, word learning, and engagement over those who were read print books.
“These studies show that reasonable amounts of time spent on devices — interacting and engaging with apps and games — can help children learn important skills and enjoy the process of learning.”
Use screentime responsibly
In summary, just like any activity in excess should be a concern, screentime for children should be monitored and weighted by its engagement level. If screentime is replacing time spent engaging with loved ones or playing games with siblings or peers, or if it is largely passive and replaces time spent outdoors, then its use should be limited. However, engaging with high quality, engaging educational apps and games can be an effective tool for supporting learning. At Curious Learning, we work with our partners to ensure that children have access to the kinds of games that make screentime productive and more importantly, fun.
Written by Stephanie Gottwald, Director of Content, Specialist and Researcher in Edtech and literacy. Her role at Curious Learning is to lead the effort of finding and building the best apps for learning to read in a variety of languages and cultural settings.