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80% of specialists have detected an increase in diseases associated with excessive screen use
Doctors and healthcare specialists affirm that currently, over 90% of children between four and ten years old spend more time in front of screens than recommended, warning once again that excessive use leads to problems in child development. In this regard, over 80% of specialists have noticed the rise in associated diseases.
These are some of the conclusions of a study presented in Madrid on Thursday by the Foundation Crecer Jugando and the Institute of Children’s Product and Leisure Technology (AIJU), on the occasion of the Day of the Child, celebrated every April 26th.
As stated in a press conference by the coordinator of the Children’s Research and Educational Values department at AIJU, Pablo Busó, with this data, «it can be affirmed that Spain is a screen-filled reality at the childhood level.» Additionally, he has warned about the impact of these data on «real medical consequences: sleep problems, myopia, anxiety, overweight, attention difficulties.» «Parents don’t know who to turn to, they’re not sure whether they should go to a pediatrician, psychologist, or neurologist,» Busó stated.
The report reflects the opinions of over 60 health professionals — including pediatricians, psychiatrists, neurologists, ophthalmologists, and nutritionists — as well as 334 families with children aged 0 to 17 over a three-year period.
95% of surveyed doctors link this overexposure to conditions such as sleep disorders, anxiety, overweight, attention deficit, early myopia, and socialization problems, emphasizing that children should not engage with screens before the age of 4, and any increase after that should be very gradual.
Specifically, they limit screen time to a maximum of 20 minutes per day for children aged 4 to 6, 40 minutes for those aged 7 to 9, and one hour for those aged 10 to 12. However, 98% of children between 10 and 12 exceed this limit. Nevertheless, for children under 4 years old, the recommendation is zero minutes in front of screens.
Furthermore, the study reveals that by 2025, 91% of children aged 1 to 12 exceed the recommended exposure time, compared to 75% in 2023, while in the 4 to 9 age group, up to 98% are overexposed.
As highlighted by the communication director of the Foundation Crecer Jugando, Maite Francés, «children should not be in front of screens before the age of 4 because their brains are still developing and require three-dimensional stimuli, not two-dimensional.»
Therefore, she argues that «free play is the natural antidote» to the indiscriminate use of screens and calls for the traditional play space to be reclaimed as a tool for emotional, cognitive, and social development. «Free play is being displaced by screens, and with that, we lose an essential tool for healthy development,» she lamented.
71% STRUGGLE TO MAINTAIN CONTROL OVER SCREEN TIME
Additionally, the study indicates that while 96% of families have stated they establish rules for screen use, 71% of respondents admit to struggling to maintain discipline and control over screen time.
Among the main reasons hindering the enforcement of screen use rules, 41% of parents acknowledge using screens as a tool to manage daily life (such as during meals, work, or rest), while 37% admit to not always being able to supervise the time their children spend in front of screens. The negative reactions of children to restrictions, social pressure, and the lack of common criteria among adults in the household also play a role.
Despite this, 86% of participating families in the study admitted to never taking their child to a specialist for screen use and its potential impact on health, compared to 14% who have consulted professionals.
«URGENT» CALL FOR A PREVENTION STRATEGY
During the press conference, professionals emphasized the «urgent» need for a multidisciplinary prevention strategy. «Technology is not the problem, but how, when, and for what purpose it is used,» stated child and adolescent psychiatrist at Hospital Niño Jesús, Beatriz Martínez Núñez.
She also raised concerns about «a worrying increase in eating disorders, self-harm, and anxiety in minors, largely due to unsupervised exposure to social networks.» «Leaving a child alone with the internet for an hour can be like releasing them into a wild environment for an hour,» she declared.
The presentation took place at the Ronald McDonald Foundation, where Silvia Álava Sordo, a healthcare psychologist and expert in educational psychology, also emphasized that technology use should be mediated by an adult. «There has been an increase in early intervention consultations, with children with ADHD, autism spectrum disorder, language delay, attention issues, and the development of certain skills,» she explained.
In addition to warning about the risks of unsupervised content — such as early access to pornography or the influence of toxic online communities — experts have proposed other measures, including awareness campaigns, digital education from an early age, training for parents and educators, and stricter legislation on children’s access to devices and online content.
The Day of the Child is an event promoted by the Foundation Crecer Jugando, involving institutions, foundations, public and private companies, schools, and municipalities, among others, in memory of April 26, the date when children were able to go out after 42 days of confinement in 2020.
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