magazine issue 3 2025 / Issue 59

Small Screens, Big Effects: How Screen Media Shapes Early Childhood

• written by Dr. Gizem Samdan
• edited by Elisabeth Höhne

Reviewers: Dr. Nicolas Arnaud and Prof. Dr. Fabio Sticca

Editorial Assistant: Jana Dreston

How does early screen use shape child development? This article reveals how content type, family background, and parental media habits can either support or hinder a child’s cognitive, emotional, and social growth. It also provides practical strategies for fostering healthier media habits in young children.

Picture this: A mom is cooking in the kitchen, glancing back to ensure her baby is still captivated by the TV. Meanwhile, a dad juggles grocery shopping with his two-year-old, who is quietly absorbed in a cellphone while sitting in her stroller. In the waiting room of a doctor’s office, a parent hands over a tablet to soothe her restless son. And on a long drive to see family, a fussy toddler in a car seat is finally calmed by a quick music video.

These scenarios are not isolated moments—they have become a part of modern-day parenting reality. Despite best intentions, screen time often becomes a practical necessity, helping parents navigate the demands of daily life. But with each instance, an unavoidable question arises: What impact does early media exposure have on young children?

Research shows that children are starting to use digital media at an increasingly younger age, with screens often introduced as early as the first year of life, raising concerns about their potential impact on child development. While experts generally advise against media use for children under three, the pressures of daily life can blur the lines between ideal practices and real-world solutions. Moreover, with thousands of apps and programs marketed as “educational” without supporting evidence, parents often become more accepting of increased screen time [1].

Researchers caution that too much early media exposure may disrupt the development of critical social and motor skills, which are best acquired through real-life interactions and play [1]. Building on these concerns, many studies have linked high daily media exposure (via television and mobile devices) to a range of issues, including increased emotional and behavioral problems, such as depressive symptoms, social withdrawal, aggressive behavior, attention difficulties, along with hindered cognitive development and delayed language skills [2, 7]. However, the impact of media use on child development is not straightforward. The effects depend on a mix of factors: the kind of content children are exposed to, the family’s socioeconomic background, and even how parents themselves use media [3, 4, 5]. These elements can all influence whether media exposure helps, hinders, or simply coexists with a child’s development. According to a recent model, the Dynamic, Relational, Ecological Approach to Media Effects Research (DREAMER) framework [6], the impact of media on child development depends on many interconnected factors. It is not just about child traits (such as temperament) or family dynamics (such as coparenting); it also involves media-specific aspects—such as why children use media, whether they use it with parents or alone, how they respond to it, and even broader structural factors like household conditions and access to child care. Thus, the term “media ecology,” which encompasses all these aspects, has come into use in recent years rather than focusing solely on screen time [6].

The Role of Family Background in Screen Time

Studies show that children from lower socioeconomic backgrounds, often facing various challenges, are more susceptible to the negative effects of excessive screen time due to higher exposure and fewer resources to mitigate harm [4]. They tend to spend more time on screens when certain factors come into play—such as growing up in a single-parent household, having a migration background, or having a parent with a lower level of education, health challenges, or mental health struggles [4]. In homes with fewer resources for other activities, screen time becomes a simple, accessible way to keep children occupied. However, with limited resources to buffer the risks, the negative effects can be more pronounced.

 Image1: Child watching violent content vs. Child watching child-related content

The Right Media for the Right Age

Another important factor influencing the impact of media on young children is the type of content. Higher daily exposure to content intended for adults or older children during infancy and toddlerhood has been linked to poorer cognitive and language development outcomes in the following years, whereas associations between age-appropriate media content and child development are mostly not significant [5, 7, 8]. Researchers believe that potential benefits from screen time are more likely to be observed after the second year of life. This is due to the “transfer deficit,” where very young children find it more difficult to learn from videos or screens compared to live presentations or real interactions [9]. Experts agree that positive effects can be achieved through high-quality screen use, which involves educational content (e.g., created by researchers), co-viewing with parents, and discussing the content with children [6, 8, 10]. When caregivers watch and engage with media alongside their children, they can provide targeted feedback that aligns with the child’s linguistic and social needs and can help transfer what is learned from the screen into everyday life [9].

 Image 2: Child and father watching together

When Parents Look at Screens Instead of Child Signals

Parental media habits also matter, as frequent interruptions to parent-child interactions—known as “technoference”—can strain the relationship. Parents who frequently use mobile devices tend to be less sensitive and responsive to their child’s signals [11]. In fact, mobile phone use disrupts parental responsiveness more than other distracting activities, such as reading a book [12]. Unlike reading, where parents can choose when to focus on the book and when to engage with their child, mobile devices and televisions are active sources of stimulation. They send out continuous stimuli that can interfere with parent-child interactions in uncontrolled ways. Such disruptions can reduce shared moments of joint play with their child, parents’ awareness of dangerous situations, and overall engagement with their child [6]. These patterns have meaningful implications for child development as well. For instance, increased maternal mobile device use has been linked to higher levels of negative affectivity and reduced regulation abilities in infants [3]. When a caregiver is deeply engrossed in a device and either misses or inconsistently responds to a child’s signals, it can hinder the child’s ability to develop proper self-regulation skills. This inconsistency may lead to emotional and behavioral challenges as children struggle to adapt to unpredictable parental responses.

Image 3: Family members each absorbed in their own devices

A Bidirectional Look at Media Use and Child Development

Last but not least, it is important to consider how the relationship between media use and child development might actually go both ways. Take the self-regulatory skills of an infant as an example. For children who struggle to calm themselves, mobile devices are often used as a tool for calming them down, especially during everyday routines like errands, car rides, and restaurant visits—a practice sometimes called using a “shut-up toy.” While this may offer parents temporary relief, it may come at a cost. Regularly using mobile devices for this purpose can reduce opportunities for meaningful parent-child interactions, making kids less able to regulate their needs and emotions and increasing their exposure to potentially inappropriate content over time [4]. This creates a vicious cycle: Kids who have difficulty with self-regulation are given screens to calm down, which might actually worsen their regulation skills over time. So the key question remains whether the use of mobile devices, while offering short-term relief, might have negative effects on later social-emotional development when used as the primary means for children to learn self-soothing. Recent research on sleep development suggests that screen media can negatively affect sleep duration, quality, and bedtime routines [13]. Finding a balanced approach is essential to support children’s long-term growth without compromising their ability to regulate emotions and behaviors effectively.

Another example comes from studies on touchscreens and fine motor skills in young children. Research has shown that infants and toddlers (ages 6 to 36 months) who actively use touchscreens at an early age tend to display better fine motor skills that can be observed with real-world objects [14]. One explanation is that children who are already developmentally advanced in their motor skills might be more inclined and capable of engaging with touchscreens by scrolling, tapping, and controlling the device. Alternatively, early exposure to touchscreens could itself promote the development of advanced fine motor skills, such as precise finger and hand movements. At this point, the exact mechanism behind these observations remains unclear, and more research is needed to determine whether the cause is inherent ability or learned skills from touchscreen use.

Unanswered Questions: Gaps in Media and Child Development Research

Thus, despite existing knowledge, several important gaps in current research remain. Here are a few key areas where more exploration is essential [9]: First, holistic approaches are often missing and studies frequently overlook other important factors that might influence the outcomes. Additionally, there is a shortage of long-term research, making it unclear whether the effects of media use on children are temporary or long-lasting. Most studies tend to take a one-directional perspective, failing to consider that the relationship between media use and child development might go both ways. Another challenge is the limited understanding of the differences between the impacts of television and mobile media, making it difficult to pinpoint their unique effects. Another major limitation is the tools used to measure media exposure, as traditional questionnaires do not fully capture its continuous and dynamic nature. Understanding the role of the home learning environment and shared parent-child activities is essential in this context. New technologies, show promise as more effective alternatives. For example, software that records ambient sounds from electronic devices or apps that track which programs are used and for how long can offer a clearer, more comprehensive picture of media habits. These tools can serve as valuable complements to standard survey methods, providing richer insights into how children interact with media on a daily basis.

So, What Can We Take Away From This?

A key takeaway is that media use should ideally be a shared activity with a caregiver, encouraging a more “active” engagement with digital media. This approach promotes interaction, discussion, and guidance, which can help children engage more thoughtfully with media. It is also essential to use media as just one of many activities, ensuring a healthy balance between screen time and other important activities, such as social interactions and physical play. Supporting children in developing healthy media habits from an early age is crucial. This can be achieved by setting boundaries on media use, such as limiting it to specific times of the day that do not interfere with their routines, including sleep. By establishing these habits early on, children can learn to incorporate digital media into their lives in a way that enhances, rather than disrupts, their overall development and well-being [15].

Bibliography

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Pictures: ChatGPT