Interestingly, the analysis found that overall screen time had no association with a child's academic performance. Of this, the time spent on watching television and playing video games, however, was linked to poor academic achievement.
The harmful impact of screen time on kids’ physical and mental health has long been talked about. While most parents are worried about their child’s screen addiction, turns out, not all of screen time is actually bad for them.
A new study published in JAMA Pediatrics, analysed the academic achievements of 106,000 children and adolescents, aged four to 18, and how it was impacted by the amount of time spent on the internet, mobile phones, television, video games and overall screen media use.
Interestingly, the analysis found that overall screen time had no association with a child’s academic performance. Of this, the time spent on watching television and playing video games, however, was linked to poor academic achievement.
What screen time affects academic performance?
According to the study, watching more television impacts language and math abilities in younger children and to some extent the overall academic composite for teens. The impact was recorded to be more among teens when the time spent watching TV went up.
Studies in the past have also investigated the impact of television exposure on kids. One such research titled ‘The relation between television exposure and executive function among preschoolers’ showed how excessive television time could reduce a child’s attention span and ability to think clearly and increase unhealthy eating habits.
With regard to video games, only teens’ academic composite score was found to have been impacted. On the contrary, some experts have suggested in the past that video games can present a “continuous process of learning” and teach kids problem-solving skills.
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