Эрдэмтэд хүүхдийн дэлгэцийн хэрэглээ болон тэдний сэтгэц-нийгмийн хөгжлийн хоорондын хамаарлыг судалжээ.
Эдинбургийн их сургууль болон Империал коллеж Лондоны судлаачид “Growing Up in Scotland” урт хугацааны судалгааны хүрээнд 3,786 хүүхдийн мэдээлэлд дүн шинжилгээ хийсэн байна. Тэд сургуулийн гадуурх дэлгэцийн хэрэглээ нь 5, 10, 15 настай хүүхдүүдийн сэтгэл хөдлөл, зан төлөв, нийгмийн сайн сайхан байдалд хэрхэн нөлөөлж буйг судалжээ. Судалгааны үр дүнгээс харахад дэлгэцийн өмнө өнгөрүүлсэн нийт хугацаанаас илүүтэйгээр уг төхөөрөмжийг хэрхэн ашиглаж байгаа нь илүү чухал болохыг харуулсан байна.
Судлаачид хүүхдийн хүйс, арьсны өнгө, угсаатны бүлэг, өрхийн орлого, танин мэдэхүйн оноо зэрэг үр дүнд нөлөөлж болзошгүй бусад хүчин зүйлсийг тооцон үзжээ. Тухайлбал, 5 болон 10 настай хүүхдүүдийн хувьд дэлгэцийн хэрэглээ болон хөгжлийн бэрхшээлийн хооронд ямар нэгэн мэдэгдэхүйц холбоо тогтоогдоогүй байна. Харин 15 насанд электрон тоглоомыг маш их хэмжээгээр тоглодог байх нь бэрхшээлийн оноо өндөр байхтай холбоотой болохыг илрүүлжээ. Мөн бага насны хүүхдийн дэлгэцийн хэт өндөр хэрэглээ нь 10 насанд бэрхшээлтэй илүү их холбоотой байсан ч энэ холбоо нь 15 насанд үргэлжлэн хадгалагдаагүй байна.
Судалгааны бас нэгэн анхаарал татсан үр дүн нь өдөрт нэг цагаас дээ хугацаагаар сошиал медиа ашигладаг 15 настай өсвөр үrснийхэн үүнээс бага хугацаа зарцуулдаг хүүхдүүдтэй харьцуулахад дунджаас дээгүүр бэрхшээлийн оноотой байх магадлал бага байжээ. Зохиогчдын үзэж буйгаар олон нийтийн сүлжээ болон мессеж бичих нь найз нөхөдтэйгээ харилцах холбоог бэхжүүлж, өсвөр үеийнхэнд илүү их дэмжлэг үзүүлж болзошгүй аж. Гэсэн хэдий ч нийгмийн сайн харилцаатай өсвөр үеийнхэн сошиал медиаг илүү ашиглах магадлалтай тул энэ нь шууд ашиг тустай гэдгийг батлах боломжгүйг тэд анхааруулжээ.
Энэхүү судалгааны үр дүн нь JAMA Network Open сэтгүүл д нийтлэгдсэн байна. Дэлгэцийн хэрэглээний талаарх олон нийтийн эрүүл мэндийн удирдамж, тухайлбал 5-аас доош насны хүүхдэд өдөрт нэг цаг ба түүнээс бага хугацааг санал болгодог World Health Organization байгууллагын зөвлөмж нь дэлгэцийн цаг болон сэтгэц-нийгмийн хөгжлийн хоорондын нарийн төвөгтэй хамаарлыг бүрэн илэрхийлэхгүй байж магадгүй гэж судлаачид тэмдэглэжээ. Хүүхдүүд дэлгэц дээр яг ямар үйл ажиллагаа явуулж байгаа, хэнтэй хамт байгаа эсэх болон дэлгэц ашиглаагүй үедээ юугаар хичээллэж буйг судлах нь ирээдүйн судалгааны чухал чиглэл болохыг мэргэжилтнүүд онцолсон байна.
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Digital screens are now deeply embedded in our lives, with children getting access to them at earlier and earlier ages – but is this increasing screen time actually affecting their health?
The science is more mixed than you might expect, with some digital device studies raising concerns and others suggesting there’s no real relationship between time in front of a screen and mental or physical problems.
In a new paper published in JAMA Network Open, researchers from the University of Edinburgh and Imperial College London analyzed data from a cohort of 3,786 children in the Growing Up in Scotland longitudinal research study.
They looked at how out-of-school screen use at age 5, 10, and 15 related to psychosocial development (covering emotional, behavioral, and social well-being).
The overall findings are reassuring, and they suggest that how screens are used matters more than time spent engaging with devices.
“No significant associations were found between screen use and developmental difficulties at 5 or 10 years of age, and an association with higher difficulties score at 15 years of age was only seen for very high use of electronic games and not other forms of screen use,” write the researchers in their published paper.
“Early high screen use was associated with greater difficulties at 10 years of age, but this association was not sustained at 15 years of age.”
The researchers accounted for several other factors that may have influenced the results, including sex, race, ethnicity, household income, and cognitive test scores.
One of the more surprising findings was that 15-year-olds who used social media apps for more than an hour a day were less likely to have ‘above‑average difficulties’ scores than those using these apps for under an hour a day.
The authors suggest social media and messaging may boost bonds with friends and offer young people more support.
However, they also caution that adolescents with better social functioning may simply be more likely to use them, so the finding cannot establish a benefit.
“Our findings suggest that public health guidelines that focus solely on limiting screen use, such as the World Health Organization recommendation of 1 hour a day or less for children younger than 5 years, may not accurately reflect the complex relationship between screen time and psychosocial development,” write the researchers.
The study also showed that the percentage of time spent gaming increased as the kids got older.
One possible route for following up on this study is to look at how screens are being used, which is likely to play into any potential impacts.
“Areas for future research include accessing data about what children are actually doing on the screen and who they are doing it with, or whether it is solo,” says professor of education Victoria Whitington, from Adelaide University in Australia, who wasn’t involved in the study.
“Also, researching what children are doing when they are not on screens and whether screen time, in a sense, excludes the possibility to engage in other areas, for example, in-person verbal and physical interaction and time outdoors in highly sensory environments that engage children’s senses fully.”
It is worth noting that the study period starts in 2009, only two years after the launch of the iPhone and a year before the first iPad appears. Phones and tablets are now even more ubiquitous than ever, so more up-to-date figures may tell a different story.
However, the study does suggest that, in this cohort, screen time alone was not consistently linked to worse psychosocial development, and appears to be just one of many ways that kids are influenced and affected as they grow up.
“Apparent correlations between screen use and negative outcomes become much weaker or disappear when appropriate third factors are taken into account,” says psychologist Pete Etchells, from Bath Spa University in the UK, who wasn’t involved in the study.
Related: Owning a Smartphone at Age 12 Is Linked to These Health Issues in Kids
“This makes sense in the context of how screens sit within young people’s lives – that screen use doesn’t occur in a vacuum, but can impact, and is impacted by, a variety of social and family-level factors.”
The research has been published in JAMA Network Open.
This article was fact-checked by Rebecca Dyer and edited by Rebecca Dyer. While we pride ourselves on our process, we are only human. If you spot a mistake, please let us know.
