Exposure to a screen, when the content is adapted, is likely to have a positive effect on the cognitive development of young children, especially when it is designed to encourage interaction with the adult, according to a new study.
- On average, children aged one to six spend three times more time on screens than ten years ago. According to a 2022 Ipsos poll, they spend at least six hours a week watching internet videos, four hours playing video games and six hours watching TV.
- However, when the adult is present with the child and talks with him during the viewing of age-appropriate content, for example an educational programme, it can help to develop his cognition and his comprehension and conversation skills.
“We are used to hearing that exposure to screens is bad for a child and can seriously harm their development if not limited to less than an hour a day. Although it can be harmful, our study suggests that the focus should be on the quality of what a child is watching and the context rather than the quantity”said in a communicated Dr Eszter Somogyi from the Department of Psychology at the University of Portsmouth.
The new study which she co-authored, a review of hundreds of previous studies published in Frontiers in Psychology, examines the impact of passive screen use on the cognitive development of a young child. Their authors find that screen exposure – whether from a TV or mobile device – can be beneficial, depending on the context in which they are viewed.
Educational programs: they are more effective when an adult is present
Researchers from the University of Portsmouth and Université Paris Nanterre, France, analyzed 478 studies published over the past two decades. Their findings revealed that, in young children, early exposure to television can be detrimental to play, language development, concentration and attention, especially in young children.
“Weak narration, rapid editing and complex stimuli can make it difficult for a child to extract or generalize information. ‘have a positive effect, especially when designed to encourage interaction’, says Eszter Somogyi.
The studies analyzed also show that screen time is more beneficial for a child if a parent or adult is present, as they can interact with them and ask questions. Watching TV with your child, answering their questions and commenting on what is being watched could therefore help improve their understanding of the content, thus reinforcing their learning during educational programmes. It could also help in the development of their conversation skills and provides children with an appropriate role model in front of the television.
Prolonged exposure to screens can also be risky for the child
While the right kind of content can do more good than harm, the study cautions that watching TV shouldn’t replace other learning activities, such as socializing. The researchers also emphasize that it is imperative to inform caregivers of children under 3 of the risks associated with prolonged exposure to screens when it takes place in the wrong way (for example, a viewing without the accompaniment of an adult).
Indeed, in 2021, the first results of the Elf study (French Longitudinal Study from Childhood), conducted by Inserm and Public Health France, concluded that “prolonged use of screens by children aged 2-3 years is associated with an increased risk of sleep disorders, behavior and early learning”. For their part, researchers at the University of Alberta have established that five-year-old children who spend more than two hours a day in front of a screen run five to nine times more likely to have symptoms associated with attention deficit disorder.
The authors of the new study therefore recommend reinforcing situations that promote learning, such as viewing age-appropriate content, viewing under adult supervision and the absence of a second device or of a television screen in the background.