Media and Young Minds

Abstract

Infants, toddlers, and preschoolers are now growing up in environments saturated with a variety of traditional and new technologies, which they are adopting at increasing rates. Although there has been much hope for the educational potential of interactive media for young children, accompanied by fears about their overuse during this crucial period of rapid brain development, research in this area still remains limited. This policy statement reviews the existing literature on television, videos, and mobile/interactive technologies; their potential for educational benefit; and related health concerns for young children (0 to 5 years of age). The statement also highlights areas in which pediatric providers can offer specific guidance to families in managing their young children’s media use, not only in terms of content or time limits, but also emphasizing the importance of parent–child shared media use and allowing the child time to take part in other developmentally healthy activities.

A Socio-Ecological Examination of Weight-Related Characteristics of the Home Environment and Lifestyles of Households with Young Children

“…Parents and children reported 5 to 6 h of daily screentime; children exceeded the 2016 recommendations from the American Academy of Pediatrics by 5 times [86]. The home media environment was clearly conducive to sedentary behavior—children were allowed to watch television or use ‘inactive’ media devices nearly 8 h daily and television was on for 2 h, even when no one was watching.…”

“…The home media environment was clearly conducive to sedentary behavior—children were allowed to watch television or use ‘inactive’ media devices nearly 8 h daily and television was on for 2 h, even when no one was watching. Despite recommendations to make children’s bedrooms media free [86], 56% of children had at least one media device in their bedrooms.…”

Perspectives on Technology-Assisted Relaxation Approaches to Support Mind-Body Skills Practice in Children and Teens: Clinical Experience and Commentary

“…Will physiologic sensors be added into clothing or jewelry for additional information and options for more precise control of mind and body? As we continue to explore the interface of the arts, biomedical technologies, and healthcare endeavors in the service of healing, tremendous potential is available to develop new ways in which electronic media can enhance health and healing for kids and teenagers across a variety of settings, although vigilance is still needed to combat the potential downside to the overuse of technology [34]. …”

“…Delivering treatments through “play” experiences or games, is an ideal, developmentally appropriate way to proceed in therapeutic interaction, and is often referred to as “therapeutic play.” Over the past several years, playing video games, texting, and watching online videos have become popular activities for children and teens [34,35,36]. What exactly is it that seems to make video games so popular?…”

Prevalence, trajectories, and determinants of television viewing time in an ethnically diverse sample of young children from the UK

“…Currently Canada and Australia recommend no screen time exposure in children under 2 years old and less than an hour a day for 2–5 year olds [9, 10]. In the US it is recommended that digital media use (except video-chatting) is avoided in children younger than 18 to 24 months, screen time of children aged 2–5 year old should be limited to 1 h/day which is high quality, co-viewed with, and re-taught by parents [11]. …”