Negative Effects of Screen Time on Children

This assignment reflects the negative outcomes of screen time on children through evidence-based information. It discusses the harmful effects of screen time on the brain, eyesight, behavior, education, and physical health of children. The article also suggests that policy makers, healthcare professionals, parents, and school authorities should take actions to reduce the negative effects of screen time on children.

Running head: NEGATIVE EFFECTS OF SCREEN TIME
DOES SCREEN-TIME AFFECT CHILDREN IN A POSITIVE WAY OR IN A NEGATIVE
WAY?
Name of the student:
Name of the university:
Author note:

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NEGATIVE EFFECTS OF SCREEN TIME
Title: DOES SCREEN-TIME AFFECT CHILDREN IN A POSITIVE WAY
OR IN A NEGATIVE WAY?
The assignment will reflect the negative outcomes of screen time on children through
evidence based information.
Screen time can be defined as the time that is spent by the individuals during the use of
different types of devices that are computer, television as well as the video game console.
Researchers mainly describe this aspect as one of the element of sedentary lifestyle (Hale and
guan 2015). With the gradual advancement in the field of technology, various kinds of gazettes
have been produced in the markets and use of internet connectivity had resulted people in being
hooked with the gazettes. Besides the use of television and video games, the present age is
witnessing the excessive use of social media and smart phones and hence more screen time is
spent on these objects (Dong et al. 2017). Children have become the easiest victims to these that
are affecting them in various ways. The assignment will mainly enlighten the different negative
aspects associated with the rise of screen timing in the lives of the children so that effective
interventions can be developed and they can be provided with better quality lives in their future.
One of the most harmful effects that result from high screen time is the negative
outcomes on brain that result in brain damage. Researchers are of the opinion that children who
have high screen time suffer from issues of brain where the gray matter undergo atrophy.
Shrinkage or loss of tissue volume in the areas of the gray matter takes place which the
processing unit if the brain (Wu et al. 2015). The main areas that are affected are the frontal lobe
that is mainly responsible for the executive functions that include planning, prioritizing,
organizing as well as impulse control. They are seen to take part in impulsive activities, poor

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processing of information and issues with reasoning skills. Many other researchers have stated
that such actions also lead to reduction in the cortical thickness in the teenage individuals who
are internet addicted. Cortical thickness is also seen to be reduced in the frontal lobe of the online
gaming addicts and this is well correlated with the impairment of the cognitive task. Impaired
cognitive functioning results in less efficient information processing which also lead to reduction
in the impulse inhibition. Abnormal spontaneous brain activity is also seen to be associated along
with poor performance in various tasks (Demoeas et al. 2015).
Most of the digital screen is seen to emit blue light as well as high energy visible (HEV)
light wavelengths. This has the capability of causing irritation as well as possibly long-term
damage of the retina. It is also seen to have the capability to suppress the sleep hormone
melatonin. This results in development of an artificial feeling of weakness which even disrupts
sleep patterns that in turn result in eye strain. One of the most important harm that it can also
cause is the dryness. Dryness is mainly seen to cause reduced blinking while the children stare at
the screens (Kremer et al. 2014). Usually the normal blink rate is about 15 to 20 times per minute
that may decrease by up to range of half when children are seen to be fixated on what they are
viewing something on the screen. When such children are staring at the screen without blinking
their eyes, their tears are believed to get evaporated and therefore they are also seen to suffer
from dry spots, blurred vision, pain, redness and others. Over the course of days, situations are
seen to get worsened and eye conditions and visions become impaired.
Another one of the negative impact that the children are also seen to be effected from is
the obesity. When children spend too much time indoors in a sedentary position on their gazettes,
televisions and computers, they have a risk of becoming overweight. They are not being able to
undertake physical activities that could have been achieved if they play on fields, take swimming

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classes, playing soccer, volleyballs and many others. Such situation makes them put on weight
due to accumulation of calories (Xu, wen and rissel 2015). Moreover, it is also seen that such
screen time make them exposed to different types of unhealthy behaviors like fast food eating
and others that make them more leaned towards fast food which also contribute to accumulation
of calories.
Many of the researchers are also of the opinion that sleep problems may lead to various
kinds of behavior problems. Children attending elementary schools who are seen to have a
screen time of more than two hours are more likely to have emotional, social as well as attention
problems. Excessive TV viewing is also seen to have been linked with increasing tendencies for
bullying behaviors. Different types of educational problems are also seen to arise from high
screen time for children. Researchers have found connections where children with high screen
time have poor academic performance and are more likely to fail to concentrate on their studies
on the regular basis. Impaired cognitive functioning with increased sensitivity to rewards and
insensitivity to loss are also seemed to be highly associated with children engaged with video
games playing (Carson et al. 2015).
Another important aspect to high screen time that has also negative outcomes is
increasing of violence in the children. Different types of exposures to violent shows on the
television, music, movies as well as video games can make the children become desensitized to
it. They are mainly seen to use violence for solving problems that may imitate what they see on
the televisions. Therefore, this also affects them mentally and physically (deMoraes et al. 2017).
From the entire discussion below, that children in the present generation are seen to be
affected by higher screen time. Such screen time can affect their brain and eyesight largely. They

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are also seen to cause behavioral problems, educational problems, violence as well as obesity.
Therefore, policy makers as well as healthcare professionals with the help of private and
government organizations should plan for health promotion programs that would ensure
reduction in such behavior of the children. Parents and school authorities need to take actions in
order to reduce the negative effects on the children in the nation.

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References:
Carson, V., Stearns, J. and Janssen, I., 2015. The relationship between parental physical activity
and screen time behaviors and the behaviors of their young children. Pediatric exercise
science, 27(3), pp.390-395.
de Moraes Ferrari, G.L., Pires, C., Solé, D., Matsudo, V., Katzmarzyk, P.T. and Fisberg, M.,
2017. Factors associated with objectively measured total sedentary time and screen time in
children aged 9---11 years.
De Moraes, A.C.F., Carvalho, H.B., Siani, A., Barba, G., Veidebaum, T., Tornaritis, M., Molnar,
D., Ahrens, W., Wirsik, N., De Henauw, S. and Mårild, S., 2015. Incidence of high blood
pressure in children—effects of physical activity and sedentary behaviors: the IDEFICS study:
High blood pressure, lifestyle and children. International journal of cardiology, 180, pp.165-170.
Dong, F., Howard, A.G., Herring, A.H., Thompson, A.L., Adair, L.S., Popkin, B.M., Aiello,
A.E., Zhang, B. and Gordon-Larsen, P., 2017. Longitudinal associations of away-from-home
eating, snacking, screen time, and physical activity behaviors with cardiometabolic risk factors
among Chinese children and their parents. The American journal of clinical nutrition, 106(1),
pp.168-178.
Hale, L. and Guan, S., 2015. Screen time and sleep among school-aged children and adolescents:
a systematic literature review. Sleep medicine reviews, 21, pp.50-58.

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Kremer, P., Elshaug, C., Leslie, E., Toumbourou, J.W., Patton, G.C. and Williams, J., 2014.
Physical activity, leisure-time screen use and depression among children and young
adolescents. Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport, 17(2), pp.183-187.
Wu, X., Tao, S., Zhang, Y., Zhang, S. and Tao, F., 2015. Low physical activity and high screen
time can increase the risks of mental health problems and poor sleep quality among Chinese
college students. PloS one, 10(3), p.e0119607.
Xu, H., Wen, L.M. and Rissel, C., 2015. Associations of parental influences with physical
activity and screen time among young children: a systematic review. Journal of obesity, 2015.