Screens: How to protect children from their harmful consequences?

There is little doubt today that excessive and unsupervised screen use has harmful effects on the development of young children. However, the consequences of exposure to smartphones, tablets, and other televisions depend not only on the time spent in front of them, but also on the context of use and the content viewed.

Screens now occupy a predominant place in our lifestyles. In recent years, the debate over the consequences of exposing young children to their influence has intensified, both in educational and therapeutic communities and within families.

What do we know about the real impact of screen time on the neuropsychological development of young children? Many learned societies and pediatric associations recommend limiting screen use during childhood, particularly for children under 5. However, research reveals a less binary reality than one might imagine.

Indeed, both the context of use and the content viewed determine the effects that screen time can have on development. Let's take a look.

A recent meta-analysis found that prolonged screen use is associated with eye strain, dry eyes, and an increased risk of childhood myopia .

Furthermore, technology cannot and should not replace games, physical activity, contact with nature or interactions with peers, in short, the stimulation to which children are subjected in their environment.

Research has shown that replacing these experiences with excessive and passive use of screens can increase the risk of obesity, visual impairment or learning difficulties .

Beyond these effects, there are also concerns about the impact on functions such as attention, language or emotional control.

A literature review of 102 studies conducted on children under 3 years old reveals that it is important not only to monitor screen time, but also how it is used, and under what conditions . For example, the presence of an adult who comments on or interacts with the content promotes learning and attention. On the other hand, passive or unsupervised exposure poses a risk to a child's cognitive development.

The mere presence of a screen in the background, such as a television on while a child is playing, interferes with their activities, attention, and interactions with others . This is true even if the child is not looking directly at the screen.

Ultimately, these observations suggest that tablets, phones, and other televisions can become learning tools, provided they are used for educational purposes and under supervision. Otherwise, they risk restricting social interactions , so essential to the developing brain.

The real issue: age and inappropriate content

It could therefore be argued that the main risk is not due to the screen itself, but to what it broadcasts. Early exposure to inappropriate content is associated with attention difficulties and poorer performance of executive functions , particularly with regard to inhibitory control (essential for regulating behavior and cognition), as well as language delays.

While studies do not establish direct causal links with screen exposure, they do reveal that high levels of non-selective consumption of television, computers, telephones or tablets in very young children (around 3 years old) are accompanied not only by lower inhibitory control , but also by lower brain activation in the areas concerned (the prefrontal cortex ).

Furthermore, watching television at the age of 2 has a negative effect on executive functions, an effect whose consequences are felt a year later . Another study, published in 2010, revealed that children who are the biggest consumers of television are also those who have the weakest executive performance at the age of 4 .

Even passive viewing of video platforms like YouTube can be harmful to toddlers. Children aged 2 to 3 who were most exposed to them showed reduced language development , an effect attributed to their reduced social interactions.

Other studies have linked excessive television viewing to attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) at age 7, as well as lower performance in math and vocabulary. It has also been observed that excessive exposure between the ages of 15 and 48 months triples the risk of delayed language development. These findings are consistent with other studies on YouTube exposure in younger children.

When the content is specifically designed for children, the consequences are no longer the same. Exposure to educational digital programs, designed to improve attention and executive functions in 4- to 6-year-olds, leads not only to progress in these abilities, but also to an improvement in performance in intelligence ( measured in particular by the Kaufman Brief Intelligence Test, editor's note), attention and working memory . It would appear that innate factors, such as the presence of the DAT1 gene, which codes for the dopamine transporter ( a chemical messenger that plays an essential role in movement, motivation, pleasure and reward , editor's note), can modulate the effectiveness of these programs.

In children aged 3 to 4 years, watching educational content also improves language (number, spatial concepts and vocabulary) , especially when the narration is rich and immersive .

Furthermore, technology can support inclusion and intervention: in children in situations of psychosocial vulnerability aged 4 to 5 years, digital tools stimulate working memory and self-regulation . In autistic minors (3-16 years), digital intervention improves attention and social interaction .

Finally, the use of videos and digital media, in a context of family interactions, has helped improve linguistic development in children aged 2 to 4 years with language delay.

It should be noted, however, that evidence of positive neuropsychological effects is more numerous from the age of 6. At this age, children are better able to transfer the skills acquired during exercises to their daily lives, which affect areas such as intelligence, emotional and behavioral regulation, academic performance, or executive functions . The observed effects go beyond the processes driven by the digital tools used.

Despite the benefits mentioned above, it is important to remember that screens cannot replace unsupervised play activities, physical activity and social interactions.

That being said, a recent literature review focusing on the 4-12 age group concluded that technology can play a positive role when used in the right context, geared towards games that engage physical activity and relationships with others.

This could involve, for example, using "smart objects," such as a ball that records successful shots or a swing equipped with sensors that distribute virtual rewards, or implementing " pervasive games ," in other words, games that, by using new technologies (GPS, augmented reality, etc.), create a playful experience that combines elements from both the real and virtual worlds.

Ultimately, technology can be a lever to encourage children to move, explore and socialize, provided it is used with an educational perspective.

In light of the benefits and limitations of screens in child development, various expert groups have made recommendations.

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends avoiding screen time for children under 18 months (with the exception of video calls). For children 18-24 months, only quality content, always viewed with an adult, is recommended. Between 2 and 5 years, a maximum of one hour of screen time per day, and with educational content. Finally, it recommends avoiding screen time before bedtime, using them as educational tools—not just as distractions—and recommends that adults set an example by ensuring they themselves use digital technologies in a healthy way.

The World Health Organization advises limiting screen time to one hour per day for 2-4 year olds, and two hours per day for 5-17 year olds.

(In France, in April 2025, five learned societies – the French Pediatric Society, the French Public Health Society, the French Society of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, the French Ophthalmology Society and the French-speaking Society of Health and the Environment – published a platform entitled “Screen-based activities are not suitable for children under 6: they permanently impair their intellectual capacities”. A year earlier, the working commission on screens submitted its report and recommended “limiting screens and their use according to age” and wished to “guide adults towards good practices”, with the slogan “No screens before age 3”, deemed insufficient by the organizations that signed the text of the April 2025 platform, editor’s note.)

The screen is not the enemy

To claim that screens are "harmful" in and of themselves would be as strange as considering paper dangerous because it can be used to print any type of book, including unsavory ones. What matters is not the medium, but the content, the context, and the quality of the interaction with the medium.

The challenge with screens is finding balance, respecting children's developmental milestones, and making technology an ally—not a substitute for play, interaction, and experimentation in the physical world.