Children’s mental health may suffer if they spend too much time on electronic devices, study suggests

Increased electronic screen time was associated with worse mental health issues in children compared to those with lower levels of screen time during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a recent JAMA Network Open paper

Parents completed repeated questionnaires about their children’s mental health during the pandemic, documenting how long their children spent watching television or the time their children spent on electronic devices, including digital media time, video games, electronic learning and also video-chatting time. 

 "Compared to children and youth with lower screen use, those with higher screen use had higher levels of mental health symptoms," study co-author Dr. Catherine S. Birken told United Press International (UPI).