The dangers of screen time: From brain development to heart health

Little girl plays with iPad while her mother pushes her in a stroller. The little girl ignores her surroundings, and is fascinated by the device.

A teenage boy plays Fortnite with his friends online. Most of these friends he does not know personally; He only knows them online.

A group of teenagers sitting at a booth in a restaurant. They didn’t recognize each other and didn’t say anything to their friends because they were aggressively scrolling on TikTok.

College student walking along a busy road focusing on her phone. She narrowly missed being hit by a passing car.

We have all witnessed such scenes in person or on the news. Should parents be worried?

Screen time in numbers

Did you know that young children (ages 2 to 5) spend about 3.5 hours a day glued to a screen? It goes up from there depending on age. Children ages 8 to 10 spend an average of 6 hours a day, children ages 11 to 14 spend 9 hours a day, while older teens (15 to 18 years old) use screens an average of 7.5 hours a day. if Screen time If homework was included, the numbers would be much higher, according to the American Academy of Children and Adolescents Psychiatry. Almost all teens (95 percent) between the ages of 13 and 17 own a smartphone. The most popular online platform for teens is YouTube. Nine in ten teens (90%) reported using the site, followed by TikTok (63%), Instagram (61%), and Snapchat (55%). According to a 2025 Common Sense Media poll, 72 percent of teens have used AI companions at least once, and about a third of teens use AI companions for romantic interactions, emotional support, and assistance. Friendship.

Spending too much time in front of screens can lead to a variety of physical and psychological problems.

Screen time and young children’s brain development

It is estimated that 90 percent of your child’s brain development occurs in the first five years of his life. Screen time can pose a real danger to young brains. Consider the following:

Low real-world interaction. Talking, playing, and exploring are crucial for brain development. Screen time replaces the face-to-face interactions in the real world that are essential for early brain development.
Delayed language development. Conversations with other adults and children stimulate language development. Young minds need interactive conversations to develop language skills, something passive screen viewing cannot give a child.
Overstimulation. Screens stimulate the young brain, especially the visual cortex, while the auditory cortex suffers. The auditory cortex is vital for developing social skills and language.
Brain structure and function. Research shows links between screen time and negative effects on brain structure. A National Institutes of Health study found that children who spend more than seven hours a day in front of screens experience thinning of the cerebral cortex, the area of the brain associated with critical thinking and reasoning.
Book reading versus screen time. A recent study showed that children’s brains work differently when a book is read to them compared to seeing and hearing it from a screen. Specifically, there was significant activity in the right temporoparietal junction of the children’s brains. Researchers believe that reading live books engages the part of the brain responsible for socially oriented cognitive processes, which focus on the reader’s emotions, intentions, and shared feelings. attention. This provides an explanation for why direct book reading and screen time affect language development in different ways in young children.

Screen time and health risks to your child’s health

The more time children spend on smartphones, the greater their risk of heart disease, according to a new study published in the journal Journal of the American Heart Association. This applies to both young children and teenagers. Every additional hour spent in front of screens is associated with a range of risks associated with cardiovascular diseases, such as high blood pressure and obesity. This makes sense because the more hours kids spend on their iPhone or iPad, the fewer hours they’ll be physically active. One thing that can significantly mitigate excessive screen time is sleep duration. People who slept for short periods were more at risk compared to those who slept for long periods.

Screen time and social-emotional skills

Research suggests that high levels of screen time are associated with a variety of social and emotional problems in children and adolescents.

Growth retardation. One-year-olds who were exposed to more than four hours of screen time per day showed delays in communication and problem-solving at 2 and 4 years of age. High screen time for one-year-old children was associated with delayed development of fine motor, interpersonal, and social skills at age two.
Executive function. Preschoolers with high levels of screen use scored lower on (1) the ability to suppress impulsive behaviors, (2) cognitive flexibility, which enables a person to solve problems creatively, and (3) managing emotions and thoughts (e.g., a child who waits patiently rather than grabbing a toy).
Social and emotional problems. A recent meta-analysis of 32 studies including 26,266 students found this to be a problem Social media Use was significantly associated with a number of mental health concerns, including anxiety, depression, Feeling lonelya little Self esteemand He is afraid Of the missing (FOMO).

AI companions for advice, friendship, and emotional support

It’s not uncommon to have an imaginary friend when you’re young. In fact, it is so common that 65% of children will have an imaginary friend at some point in their lives by the age of seven. However, AI has taken the “imaginary friend” to a whole new level. When I asked Google’s AI feature if AI companions could talk, this is the response I got. “Artificial intelligence people can do this Speak to you using human-like voicesIn addition to communicating via text messages.“

Are teens using AI buddies?

The answer is yes, according to a new poll conducted by Common Sense Media.

72% of teens have used AI at least once.
52% of teens say they interact with their AI companions several times a month.
13% of teens use AI daily (8% several times daily, 5% once daily).
21% of teens reported using AI several times a week, which was the most common pattern.
Boys were slightly more likely to say they had never used an AI companion than girls (31 percent vs. 25 percent).

Why do teens talk to these buddies in conversations that feel personal and meaningful?

According to a Common Sense Media poll:

They talk about their day, their interests, or whatever is on their mind.
They talk through feelings or get a different perspective when they are dealing with something difficult.
They can create or personalize a digital companion with specific traits, interests, or personalities.
They can role-play conversations with fictional characters from their favorite shows, games, or books.

What are the harms of using an artificial intelligence companion?

There is a possibility of serious damage. Take the case of Adam Ren.

Adam Wren was sixteen years old Suicidal Ideas and was in crisis last April. After lengthy conversations with his AI companion on ChatGPT, he committed suicide. When his parents looked at his phone, they discovered that he had confided his suicidal thoughts to his AI companion. They also discovered that the AI companion discouraged him from telling his parents and offered to write his suicide note.

It’s clear to me that there are many positive things that can come from the AI revolution, but there can be negative things too.

Should we raise our children on smartphones and tablets? If so, should parents put guardrails in place?

Practice aloha. Do everything with love, grace and… Gratitude.