Going on vacation with young children means going in search of a program of activities: reading, games, walks, sports, cultural visits and also, sometimes, a little screen time… really bad for them? Are they spending too much time on digital technologies? Until recently, we had very little data on screen consumption by children under 3 in France, but a new study has provided some answers.
Published in April 2023, in the Weekly Epidemiological Bulletin (BEH), an Inserm and INED survey based on the Elfe cohort [NDLR : “étude longitudinale française depuis l’enfance” d’un groupe d’enfants nés en 2011] assesses the digital usage of children under 6 years old over a period from 2013 to 2017. Nationally estimated daily screen time averaged 56 minutes at 2 years old, 1:20 hours at 3 years old and half and 1 h 34 to 5 and a half years. At this age, total screen time included an average of one hour of television – which remains the main screen medium for children, although it decreases as they get older –, 17 minutes of tablet, 7 minutes of video games on console, 6 minutes of smartphone and 5 minutes of computer per day.
This survey also highlights geographic and socio-demographic disparities. Some regions have lower screen times, like in Brittany, or higher, like in Hauts-de-France. Children of immigrant parents or grandparents as well as parents with a low level of education are more likely to have high consumption of digital technologies. As the authors point out, these are descriptive surveys that have no vocation to show causality. They should be seen as photographs of current uses of digital technology among young children reported by their parents.
No screen before 2 years old, one hour a day maximum after 3 years old
What to conclude? First, that these times exceed the national recommendations: no screen before 2 years, one hour a day after 3 years. However, in children, excessive use of digital technology is associated with an increased risk of overweight or obesity, a decrease in language skills, especially with low-quality content, and cognitive development disorders. “The interest of this descriptive work is to allow actors in the field focused on prevention to better perceive the social dynamics at work and thus help them better target populations at risk of excessive screen use”, as the suggests Jonathan Bernard, researcher at Inserm and lead author of the study.
This survey also suggests that socio-economic characteristics could be associated with time spent in front of screens. But there is no question of essentializing or stigmatizing. It can be assumed that children from more vulnerable socio-economic backgrounds have less access to leisure, cultural activities, sports, childcare opportunities allowing parents to have moments of rest, etc. This type of survey makes it possible to put the problem of digital consumption among young children into perspective in a socio-economic context and to adapt health interventions. Finally, we note that, among toddlers, the place of television remains important (nearly an hour a day). Unfortunately, little is known about the content of this hour, because the measurement of screen time is poor. It does not make it possible to know the uses and in particular to distinguish enriching, educational and entertaining practices from those which are sterile, even harmful for children.
So, is children’s screen time necessarily harmful? The Inserm and INED study did not aim to answer this question, but there are some answers in the scientific literature. A 2020 systematic review conducted on 42 studies showed that screen quantity was negatively associated with language development, while better quality of screen use – with educational programs and shared screen times with parents – was positively associated with good language skills.
This review is interesting, because it allows us to get out of this question of screen time to focus on the effects of digital activities or practices on certain categories of individuals according to precisely identified contexts. This makes it possible to leave behind technological determinism and, in particular, the displacement hypothesis of Susan B. Neuman (1988), according to which the deleterious effects of technologies are directly proportional to exposure times. In fact, reasoned use and parental support in the face of digital technology can be beneficial for children.
Returning to a more reasonable use would be a good thing
Unfortunately, this kind of survey cannot tell us about another deleterious digital practice, which also concerns children: “technoference”. This term refers to the interruption of parent-child relationships due to digital technology. Technoference is frequently referred to when parents respond to messages on their cell phones instead of interacting with their children, but it is also relevant when parents turn on the TV in a room where the child is also. A behavior that is difficult to assess through surveys, due to probable self-censorship on the part of the adults who respond. Be that as it may, several studies point to associations between these behaviors and a deterioration in the quality of parent-child interactions: the former are less reactive to the solicitations of the latter, are more irritable and more severe. Technoference is also associated with a decline in the quality of children’s social-emotional development. It is obviously necessary to conceive this result in connection with other socio-economic factors (level of studies, income, family situation, attachment).
The Inserm and INED study does not make it possible to deduce the causes of “screen time”, but it does provide an inventory of fixtures making it possible to rethink preventive actions with young children. If we cross these with the scientific literature, we can arrive at recommendations not just in terms of time but of digital practices. We can therefore see here that the consumption of children is a little too high with regard to health recommendations. Returning to more reasonable use would indeed be a good thing, with quality content that parents should ideally watch with their child, while keeping a maximum of one hour per day at 3 years old. It is also important to remember that digital technology must be part of a set of varied activities: reading with your child, taking a walk in the park, drawing, sharing and exchanging. And, beyond questions about children, we must also remember that adults must also be careful about their practices. Let’s also let go of our laptops a little, turn off the television if we don’t watch it and focus on interactions with our children.
* Séverine Erhel, lecturer in cognitive psychology at the University of Rennes II, coordinated with Anne Cordier the collective work, published on June 15, Children and screens (Retz, 176 pages, €9.90).