How Screen Time Affects Teens 

With an entire youth population that was born with phones, iPad and other technologies, screen time has a big impact on the development of the child. In this article I will talk about the effects it has on child development, sleep, your eyes, & ways to help lower one’s screen time. 

How Does Screen Time Affect Development? 

With the increased access to screens in younger ages there have been many harmful consequences on the cognitive, linguistic, and social-emotional development of the child. However, screens are bad, but they can also improve education and learning. Screens aren’t bad but if you use them excessively, they have been proven to worsen functioning and academic performance. Language development is also affected. Screens can take the attention of the child away from the parent which lowers the time of talking and learning language from the parent. 

How Does Screen Time Affect Sleep? 

Technologies like phones, iPads, and computers emit Blue Light. Blue Light can decrease the amount of melatonin that your brain will produce. Melatonin is a hormone that helps your brain know when to go to sleep. Sleep is important for all things in your body and is necessary for the very functioning of your body. Several studies have proven that screen time has a significant impact on the quality of sleep-in teenagers. A study in the Journal Sleep Medicine has found that teenagers with high screen time have a harder time falling asleep and staying asleep than teenagers with low screen time.  

How Does Screen Time Affect Your Eyes?

When using a screen for an extended amount of time your eyes will get dry and irritated. The reason your eyes get dry is because when using a screen, you blink less and in order to keep eyes moist the body blinks. Also, and indirect effect on the eyes with screen time is that when on a screen you are typically indoors. Sunlight is essential for the development of the eyes and your child needs to be outdoors for their eyes to develop to the fullest. When spending too much time indoors you will develop myopia (nearsightedness). Asthenopia or better known as eye fatigue is caused by overuse of the eyes. Using a screen for prolonged periods of time can strain the eyes causing eye fatigue.

What Are Ways to Decrease Screen Time? 

Written by: Ariya