Children are spending more time than ever in front of a screen, and it doesn't necessarily bode well for their futures. In 1997, babies and toddlers age 0-2 got an average of 1.32 hours of screen time each day, Axios reports. By 2014, that number had doubled to three hours per day, and more of that time is spent in front of the TV than ever before.
Using data from a previous child development study, JAMA researchers found that children age 2 and under spent 43 percent of their screen time in front of a TV in 1997. The rest of the time was spent with video games and computers.
According to a 2023, National Library of Medicine study, at six months, children were exposed to an average of 1hr, 16 min of screens per day, increasing to an average of 2 hr, 28 min by 24-months. Some children at six months were exposed to more than 3 hr of screen time per day. Inequalities in exposure were evident as early as six months. Children from higher educated families were exposed to 1hr, 43 min fewer screens per day, compared to lower educated households, with this difference remaining consistent as children age.
"Prolonged screen time can increase risks of obesity in children and can be linked to poorer performance on developmental screening tests," Axios also notes.
