The rise in popularity of smartphones amongst children and young people could be damaging their health and development.
It was recently discovered that the blue light emitted from screens may change certain hormone levels, and increase the chance of early puberty in children.
Scientists believe that this is because of the way that blue light can stop the release of the hormone melatonin, which helps to control our sleep cycles.
The new study was presented at the 60th Annual European Society for Paediatric Endocrinology Meeting.
One of the researchers, Dr Aylin Kilinc Ugurlu, from Ankara City Hospital in Turkey, said: "As this is a rat study, we can’t be sure that these findings would be replicated in children, but these data suggest that blue light exposure could be considered as a risk factor for earlier puberty onset."
Parents may be wondering what their children's phones are actually doing to their health, as they're such a big part of everyday life now.
Here are some of the ways that too much screen time may be affecting kids and teenagers.
Sleep
Children's sleeping patterns can be affected by smartphone use, and the same is true for adults.
According to a 2020 study published in the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine, "Excessive smartphone use was related to shorter total sleep time in children". Overuse was classed as more than an hour each day.
As well as length of sleep, quality of sleep was also found to be negatively impacted.
"The blue light stemming from electronic devices can affect children’s sleep, particularly when used close to bedtime, as they affect the production of melatonin,” said Dr Maite Ferrin, consultant child and adolescent psychiatrist at Re:Cognition Health.
"It’s important to either decrease, or ideally cease using electronic devices and smartphones before bed, and also avoid using them for long periods of time throughout the day."
Anxiety
Too much screen time for children has been found to have a bad effect on their overall wellbeing.
According to a 2018 study in the Preventative Medicine Reports, it was suggested that "more hours of screen time are associated with lower wellbeing in ages two to 17", and "high users of screens [classed as seven-plus hours a day] show less curiosity, self-control, and emotional stability".
"High users" of screens in teenagers aged 14-17 were found to be more than twice as likely to have been diagnosed with anxiety or depression.
Jasmine Eskenzi, founder of wellbeing and productivity app The Zensory, said: "We know smartphones can be damaging for kids’ health and wellbeing. However, we can’t change how digital natives are using technology – these cultural advances have happened, and we just have to try our best to use these tools for a positive use and to create healthy habits and behaviours.
"There are ways of using smartphones in a positive way, to empower people to learn preventative mental health strategies such as mindfulness, meditation and positive thinking," she added – highlighting that, with boundaries in place, there can be plenty of positives to being connected via tech.
She explained how young people can find like-minded communities, and also watch and engage with exercise classes and fitness content on their phones.
And according to her, it's the "habits and behaviour" that need to change, in order to stop children's anxious scrolling on social media.
Focus an d concentration
We're all guilty of spending too much time on our phones and avoiding productivity, but young people who do this could see long-term effects.
Dr Maite Ferrin explained: "The prolonged use of devices also reduces the attention span in children and may impact other functions of the brain, including our ability to remember things.
"Using smartphones in moderation and establishing boundaries with children is key to reducing these symptoms."
Eyes
Although being glued to a screen won't turn children's eyes square, it's still not a great habit for them to get into.
Dr Ferrin said: "Overusing smartphones could be detrimental to the vision of children and people of all ages.
"Excess stress can be placed on the eyes, which can cause fluctuating vision, eye strain, eye fatigue, headaches, as well as neck, shoulder and back pain.
"Overuse of smartphones could potentially increase the risk of ocular symptoms such as myopia [short-sightedness] and ocular surface disease, leading to dry eye syndrome and blepharitis."
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