Children and Screens petitions government agency to investigate how screen media habits affect children’s health
Along with more than 240 signatures from leading experts in the field, Children and Screens: Institute of Digital Media and Child Development is petitioning The Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) to include the effects of screen media habits on children’s health to its list of research priorities for the next five years.
Signatories include JAMA Pediatrics editor-in-chief Dimitri A. Christakis, M.D., M.P.H., leading Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist Paul Weigle, M.D., preeminent scholar of the role of media in children’s development Ellen Wartella, Ph.D., and more.
Children and Screens pointed to preliminary data that indicates there may be negative health consequences for children that spend a lot of time in front of screen media, such as cortical thinning, behavioral addictions, and other negative outcomes. The national non-profit organization, founded by Dr. Pamela Hurst-Della Pietra, says more research is needed to understand the issue more completely which would serve to encourage solutions for modulating children’s media exposure.
Most people have a general awareness of the potential risks of heavy media exposure, but Children and Screens suggest that parents, educators, health leaders and others are in need of more information to help them recognize when kids are overexposed and how to encourage healthier media habits.
