French children spend more and more time in front of screens, warns a new study published by Public Health France published this Wednesday, April 12. While several studies have already warned of a steady increase in use that is sometimes too early and too intensive, this is the first large-scale national study, particularly among children under 3 years old. In total, more than 18,000 children born in 2011 have been followed for more than 20 years.
A survey published in the BEH describes for the first time in and in a longitudinal way, the time of#screentotal and by type of screen, of children followed at 2, 3 1/2 and 5 1/2 years
The objective: to better target the contexts where this time exceeds the recommendationshttps://t.co/rWvv3Dm8Dspic.twitter.com/9HmdNT83mo
— Inserm (@Inserm) April 12, 2023
What are the official recommendations? The WHO recommends limiting screen time to one hour a day between ages 2 and 5. And in France, since 2019, the High Council for Public Health and the National Academy of Medicine recommend not exposing children under three to screens and Public Health France and Anses limit the age. up to 2 years. A recommendation that only 13% of parents apply, according to the study, without which the effects can be deleterious in young children.
However, the results of this study carried out by Ined and Inserm show that daily screen time was on average 56 minutes for 2 year olds, 1h20 for 3.5 years old and 1h34 for 5.5 years old. While no difference was found between girls and boys at age 2, boys used screens 10 minutes longer than girls at age 5.5.
THE “average screen time exceeds the recommendations (no screen before 2 or 3 years old, maximum 1 hour thereafter), and a significant proportion (from 11 to 26% depending on age) of children spend more than 2 hours a day before”regrets the study.
More use of screens in the north of France
Screen time was notably higher among families with immigrant origins (about 30 minutes longer among children with three or four grandparents born abroad compared to four grandparents born in France), or with a low level of education of the mother. For example, 2-year-old children whose mother has a college level spend 45 minutes more than children whose mother has a bac+5 level, and 1h15 more for children aged five and a half.
The results also differ according to the French regions: “In general, the daily time was lower in Brittany (47 min, 1h08 and 1h19 respectively at 2, 3.5 and 5.5 years) and higher in Hauts-de-France (1h04, 1h24 and 1h43 , respectively)”details the study.
What are the risks of excessive use of screens? Increased risk of overweight or obesity, difficulties in the development of language and cognitive development… The risks are numerous for young children. Some psychologists also fear a potential socialization problem of the child. “The problem with the screen is that it returns nothing and does not promote the interaction that very young children need to develop. We see more and more delay in language acquisition“, indicated in November 2022 the psychologist Samuel Comblez to the Parisian.
Source :
- Screen time from 2 to 5.5 years among children in the national Elfe cohort, April 12, 2023
