This article presents my brochure which concerns the risks of screens in preschool and school-aged children. I felt it was important to talk about this today because several studies show that as a result of the pandemic, electronic device use has nearly doubled among children in the United States. For example, this study shows that 44% of five-ten-year-olds, according to their parents, spend more than four hours a day on an electronic device against 17% before the pandemic. Moreover, children are more vulnerable to shocking pictures because their frontal lobes aren’t fully developed. The distinction between the game and the real world is more difficult for them.
It seems important to do prevention from the youngest age since some studies show that 22% of seven to twelve years old have a cell phone and 26% have a tablet.
I have therefore decided to create this brochure which will be distributed and left freely accessible in kindergartens and elementary schools in order to promote prevention among parents. This brochure will also be available in nurseries since more and more children are exposed to these tools at an early age.
The goal is to prevent parents from the concrete risks of screens. Indeed, the detrimental effects of television on children under three years of age are primarily in the areas of language development, attentional skills, and parent-child interactions. There are at least two mechanisms through which the screen can have deleterious effects on development. The first mechanism is related to the formal characteristics of television content, namely the intermittent lights or the speed of the action which can be hyperstimulating. These features can disrupt both play and language interaction when they appear in the background. Age of disorder onset appears to be an important factor to consider, as it has been reported in the literature that there would be a link between television viewing before age three and attention problems tested at the age of seven (Christakis et al., 2004).
The second mechanism is that viewing time replaces more important and appropriate learning activities. For example, adults interact less and talk less with their children when the television is on. Some researchers talk about « techno-conference », defined as a form of « absent presence » : the parent is constantly interrupted in his interactions with the child, by overconsumption of screens or a form of technological addiction. Moreover, we have known since Piaget the role of the body and movement in the cognitive development of babies. Exposure to screens changes the context of this development since the child is forced into a more passive than exploratory or social learning.
In this way, television also disturbs the construction of the self. To grow and build himself, the toddler needs to experiment and interact with his environment. At this time of life, intelligence develops through sensory and motor experiences. Indeed, the child needs to have multisensory interaction with objects to build a representation of himself and of the world. In front of the television, he remains essentially passive. Playing traditional games is the best way for children to reveal their full potential. Through it, they develop their motor skills and their imagination. The time spent in front of the screen takes him away from these essential activities while disturbing his relationship with himself and with others. Overexposure to screens before the age of three can therefore hinder a child’s development, or even slow it down.
Screens also interfere with early relationships. Indeed, if human interactions with attachment figures are replaced by screens, the young child is likely to develop an attachment relationship to the screens, feeling safe only if they are on.
If it’s not considered in time, it can lead to the development of addictive behaviors during adolescence. This addiction would diminish interactions at home and could have an impact on the self-esteem of the teenager. Indeed, the identity-building which takes place during this period can be influenced by the comparison to others through social networks. It’s also important to be aware of the impact on sleep, attention, and learning.
The objective of my brochure is also to give parents keys, for example with the method of Serge Tisseron, psychiatrist. Indeed, his method allows having a concrete idea of the ages at which it’s possible to introduce each device. So quickly his approach is : no screen before three years old, no video games before six years old, no Internet before nine years old, and no social networks before twelve years old.
Several tips can be applied by parents such as not installing a television in the bedrooms to keep a close look at what the child is doing. It also seems important to be aware of family habits. Is the television on all the time? During meals? Moreover, protection from inappropriate content is also essential.
Finally, we can say that screens have a real impact on children’s development. Even though I have decided to present only the negative effects of screens in our brochure, their use should not be prohibited but rather regulated. That is why my brochure contains some recommendations (such as not neglecting outdoor family activities) to help parents transform these moments into learning opportunities where the child is an actor in his or her own development. In May 2013, the DSM-5 included for the first time the « Internet gaming disorder » unlike the American Psychiatric Association.
Key terms :
-Screens
-Children
-Prevention
-Development
-Interactions
Words I have learned :
-Kindergarten = école maternelle
-Nursery = crèche
-Techno-conference = « absence présence » du parent
-Toddler = tout-petit
-Hinder = entraver