Below are negative effects of screen time including current American Academy of Pediatrics and World Health Organization recommendations for screen time.

At the bottom is a summary of child, teen, and adult screen time negative effects.


The World Health Organization (WHO) and American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) have made screen time recommendations. AAP calls for no screen time at all for children until 18 to 24 months, except for video chatting, and reports children ages 2 to 5 should get an hour or less of screen time per day. The WHO similarly recommends no screens for kids under 2, and less than an hour a day for kids 2 to 5. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Children


According to a recent study, 92 percent of babies had used a mobile device before their first birthday. Nearly 35 percent have their own mobile device at age 2 and that number is 75 percent among 4-year-olds. Nearly a quarter of kids ages 2 and under have TVs in their rooms, and at age 4, almost 50 percent do. On the other hand, the American Academy of Pediatrics Studies suggest that screen time may be affecting the normal development of fundamental learning, language, and emotional skills.

 

Teens


During the preteen and teen years, the brain goes through major transformations. This may be why teens are especially vulnerable to the impacts of screen time on brain function and emotional well-being.

 

Adults


A 2014 Nielsen report found that adults log a total of 11 hours of screen time a day. Here are some of the ways this might be affecting our health: