The negative effects of new screens on the cognitive functions of young children require new recommendations. Eric Osika Italian journal of pediatrics Television studies have shown that some negative effects of screens could depend on exposure time, but more importantly on the characteristics of the child, the type of content viewed, and the context in which it is viewed. Studies on newer screens show that these factors are still valid but new ones now play a negative role: portable screens increase the duration of exposure and lowered the age at which exposure begins. More worryingly, new screen persuasive designs and dark patterns largely used incite more frequent use, attracting the attention of children and parents, resultantly interfering deeply in parent/child relationships. In this text we suggest that current academic recommendations have to be more broadly shared but also that new recommendations are needed: especially to advise parents not to let their screen interactions compete with real interactions with their child which are the core of learnings (especially language) and emotional regulations but also of their security. 10.1186/s13052-021-01174-6

Preschoolers' engagement with screen content and associations with sleep and cognitive development. Acta psychologica Preschool children's exposure to screen media and associations with sleep, language, and cognition were investigated along with the time of day of screen exposure, content type, and whether use occurred with someone. Caregivers of Australian children, aged 2 years, 11 months to 5 years, 11 months, answered questions online about the durations children engaged with entertainment, relaxing/calming, and educational content. Fifty-nine percent of children engaged with relaxing/calming content and 86 % with educational, but all children engaged with entertainment content, which became the focus of the analyses. Average daily durations engaged with relaxing and educational content were 1 h each and 2 h for entertainment content. Longer time spent engaged with entertainment content was associated with shorter sleep duration and poorer sleep quality. The interaction between screen time and usage at night vs. daytime only was non-significant suggesting that the association with sleep duration was similar regardless of time of day of usage. Greater screen time also predicted lower communication and problem solving scores, and more attention difficulties. Engaging in screen content with someone else was associated with poorer problem solving skills, whereas engaging alone was associated with better problem solving. The findings here indicate that preschoolers largely engage in entertainment content and this has implications for their sleep even when screen engagement predominantly occurs during the day. Greater screen time also has implications for cognitive and language development raising questions about the time children spend on screens that could be spent on activities that better support development. 10.1016/j.actpsy.2022.103762

Screen time and problem behaviors in children: exploring the mediating role of sleep duration. Guerrero Michelle D,Barnes Joel D,Chaput Jean-Philippe,Tremblay Mark S The international journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity BACKGROUND:Previous research examining the relationship between screen time (ST) and psychological health outcomes have primarily focused on one type of ST (i.e., television), while little research has considered other types of screens (e.g., videos, movies, social media), screen content (e.g., violent video games), or potential mediating variables. Therefore, the purpose of the present study was to assess ST types and content and their association with problem behaviors, and to determine whether these relationships were mediated by sleep duration. METHODS:Parents and children provided cross-sectional baseline data (2016-18) as part of the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development study, a broadly US representative sample of 11,875 children aged 9 to 10 years. Parents self-reported their children's emotional and behavioral syndromes via the Child Behavior Checklist and sleep duration using one item from the Parent Sleep Disturbance Scale. Children self-reported their ST behavior, which comprised ST types (television/movies, videos, video games, and social media) and content (mature-rated video games and R-rated movies). RESULTS:Time spent in various ST types was positively associated with problem behaviors: watching television/movies was associated with a 5.9% increase in rule-breaking behavior (incidence rate ratio [IRR] = 1.059), 5% increase in social problems (IRR = 1.050), 4% increase in aggressive behavior (IRR = 1.040), and 3.7% increase in thought problems (IRR = 1.037). Greater time spent playing mature-rated video games was associated with greater somatic complaints (IRR = 1.041), aggressive behavior (IRR = 1.039), and reduced sleep duration (IRR = .938). Sleep duration mediated the relationship between ST (type and content) and problem behaviors, albeit the effect sizes were small. The largest effects were observed between sleep duration and all problem behaviors, with greater sleep duration predicting an 8.8-16.6% decrease in problem behaviors (IRRs ranging from .834 to .905). CONCLUSION:Greater time spent in ST behavior was associated with greater problem behaviors among children. There was strong evidence that longer sleep duration was associated with reduced problem behaviors. While sleep duration mediated the effects of ST on problem behaviors, other potential mediating variables need to be investigated in future research. 10.1186/s12966-019-0862-x

Screen time and sleep among school-aged children and adolescents: a systematic literature review. Hale Lauren,Guan Stanford Sleep medicine reviews We systematically examined and updated the scientific literature on the association between screen time (e.g., television, computers, video games, and mobile devices) and sleep outcomes among school-aged children and adolescents. We reviewed 67 studies published from 1999 to early 2014. We found that screen time is adversely associated with sleep outcomes (primarily shortened duration and delayed timing) in 90% of studies. Some of the results varied by type of screen exposure, age of participant, gender, and day of the week. While the evidence regarding the association between screen time and sleep is consistent, we discuss limitations of the current studies: 1) causal association not confirmed; 2) measurement error (of both screen time exposure and sleep measures); 3) limited data on simultaneous use of multiple screens, characteristics and content of screens used. Youth should be advised to limit or reduce screen time exposure, especially before or during bedtime hours to minimize any harmful effects of screen time on sleep and well-being. Future research should better account for the methodological limitations of the extant studies, and seek to better understand the magnitude and mechanisms of the association. These steps will help the development and implementation of policies or interventions related to screen time among youth. 10.1016/j.smrv.2014.07.007