can the great outdoors offset the negative impact of screen time on kids?
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recent study finds that time outdoors may offset screen time in young children. getty
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a new study has found that children who spend more than an hour a day staring at tablets, computers and tvs at the tender age of two may have poorer communication and daily living skills by the time they turn four. but the work, set to be published in the march in the journal jama pediatrics, also found that at least some of these negative effects can be offset by a little more time outside.
the researchers, not unlike many parents, have long been concerned about the impact extended periods of screen time can have on the development of young minds. to explore the issue, they followed 885 children from 18 months until the age of four. they were interested in the interplay between three factors: average screen time per day at age two; amount of outdoor play at two years, eight months; and neurodevelopmental outcomes (in this case, communication, daily living skills and socialization at age four).
“although both communication and daily living skills were worse in four-year-old children who had had more screen time at age two, outdoor play time had very different effects on these two neurodevelopmental outcomes,” said kenji j. tsuchiya, lead author of the study and a professor at osaka university in japan. “we were surprised to find that outdoor play didn’t really alter the negative effects of screen time on communication — but it did have an effect on daily living skills.”
the team’s analysis revealed that almost 20 per cent of the negative effects screen time had on daily living skills could be alleviated by increasing the amount of outdoor play. and, although it was not tied to screen time, they found that four-year-olds who spent more time outdoors at age two years, eight months were better socialized than those who spent less time playing outside at the same age.
“taken together, our findings indicate that optimizing screen time in young children is really important for appropriate neurodevelopment,” said tomoko nishimura, the senior author of the study. “we also found that screen time is not related to social outcomes and that even if screen time is relatively high, encouraging more outdoor play time might help to keep kids healthy and developing appropriately.”
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the study was limited by a few factors, however, most notably that it relied on parental reporting to measure screen time, a method that may have resulted in underestimation. also, researchers did not compile information on the types of shows or content that was consumed, an important consideration as previous research has shown that the effects of high screen time can vary by program.
still, the results of the research are particularly timely in light of worldwide covid-19 lockdowns that have generally led to more screen time and fewer opportunities for socialization. the team is hopeful that future research will focus on the best way to balance the risks and benefits of screen time. they also identified parental education and autism spectrum disorders as potential cofounders worthy of future investigation.
“understanding the association of screen time with daily living skills and socialization is complex and needs to take account of cofounders such as the cumulative risk of socioeconomic disadvantage and genetics, dating back to birth or earlier,” the study concludes.
dave yasvinski is a writer with healthing.ca
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