Screen time linked to lower grades, mental health problems in 2.8 million children

Parents have been told for years that children shouldn't spend too much time staring at screens.

One of the largest studies yet suggests those warnings aren't entirely misplaced although the answer isn't as simple as taking away the phone.

Researchers analysed evidence covering more than 2.8 million children across 64 countries to examine how screen use was linked with development, school performance and mental health.

Higher exposure was associated with lower overall academic achievement and poorer language development.

Children spending more time on screens were also more likely to experience emotional and peer problems, symptoms linked with anxiety and depression, aggression and attention difficulties.

The researchers said the size of some of these associations was comparable to, or greater than, factors already known to influence children's development, including socioeconomic status, parenting behaviour and premature birth.

But there is an important catch. The study doesn't prove that screens caused those problems.

Much of the research reviewed was observational, making it difficult to separate screen use from everything else happening in a child's life.

A child struggling emotionally, for example, may spend more time online. Heavy screen use could contribute to the problem, but it could also be partly a result of it.

The study also covered very different activities under the broad label of screen use: from television and gaming to social media and video calls.

That makes setting one magic daily limit difficult.

Another recent study following thousands of children found screen time wasn't consistently associated with poorer development, suggesting what children are doing on their devices and the circumstances around that use may matter alongside the number of hours.

So the latest findings don't mean every hour spent gaming, watching television or messaging friends is damaging.

They do give parents another reason to pay attention when screen use begins replacing sleep, learning, exercise or time spent with other people.