The effects of screen time on young children may depend on more than just how long they spend in front of a device, according to a new study.
What children watch, how old they are, and whether a parent watches with them can all shape the experience, the review of 30 studies found. Led by University of Georgia researcher Minal Manisha, the paper points to coviewing—parents watching and talking about media with their children—as one way to help young viewers make sense of what they see.
“We need to be aware of what our children are actually watching.”
A common belief, especially among parents, is that all screen time is bad, but the researchers found that it wasn’t that simple.
Some shows appeared to have a positive impact. For example, programs such as “Daniel Tiger” supported social skills, while “Sesame Street,” “Between the Lions” and “SuperWhy!” were linked with stronger letter and sound recognition among some preschoolers.
“If they are watching prosocial content, they will have values like empathy or compassion,” Manisha says. “If children are watching violent content, they may exhibit physical aggression.”
How much time children spend with screens matters, too. Heavy use can push out other activities like reading, outdoor play, and time with family. Evening media use was also linked with sleep problems, the review found.
Very young children learn heavily through play, exploration, and face-to-face interaction. Among infants and toddlers, the review linked heavier screen use with poorer language development, smaller vocabularies, and other learning concerns.
So what works for a 5-year-old may not work for a toddler. Younger children need more help understanding what they see while older preschoolers may be better able to learn from programs designed for their age group.
Previous research suggests children in lower-income households often spend more time with media, likely due to work schedules, childcare or lack thereof, access to recreation, and other pressures. The review focused on children from low-income families for this reason.
That challenge looks different today than it did in much of the research Manisha reviewed, which focused heavily on television. Modern devices are portable, personalized, and often shaped by algorithms, allowing children to move from room to room with an endless stream of recommended content.
That is where watching together can help.
Coviewing does not mean turning every cartoon into a lesson. It can be as simple as watching programs together, answering questions, or talking afterward about what a child saw, the researchers say.
“We need to be aware of what our children are actually watching,” Manisha says. “It’s a big thing to be able to talk to them about the content they are absorbing.”
The goal is not necessarily to remove media from children’s lives altogether but to help them build healthier habits around it.
Still, Manisha cautions against one-size-fits-all rules. Families have different schedules, resources, and needs, which can all shape how realistic certain screen-time limits are.
And those recommendations may keep changing as technology does.
“It’s an evolving landscape,” Manisha says.
The study appears in the Journal of Evidence-Based Social Work.
Source: University of Georgia
