Screen Time and Emotional Development in Early Childhood: A Review of Evidence, Mechanisms, and Implications

Description

Page: 1483-1487

Sasha Singh
Department of Psychology, The University of British Columbia, Canadian Province

Digital screens are an increasingly central part of children’s environments. For young children (birth to age five), concerns about how screen exposure affects emotional development have motivated extensive research, policy guidance, and clinical recommendations. This paper synthesizes recent empirical findings and reviews to evaluate associations between screen time and emotional outcomes in early childhood, examines potential mechanisms and moderators, highlights methodological limitations in the literature, and outlines practice and policy implications. Evidence indicates small but consistent associations between greater screen exposure and more socioemotional difficulties-including problems with emotion regulation, internalizing and externalizing behaviors, and reduced prosocial skills-but effects vary by age, content, context (e.g., co-viewing), quality of measurement, and family factors. Recommendations emphasize prioritizing interactive caregiver-child activities, limiting noninteractive screen use for infants and toddlers, and encouraging high-quality, developmentally appropriate content when screens are used.