Screen‐time matters

Technical development will always continue, driven by human natural curiosity. The digital revolution has been one of the most influential changes for our life on earth. Computers and screens are here to stay. Life has become more efficient and fast; any information is just ‘a Google away’. These great possibilities may also cause stress and make us smartphone dependent. Soon, we will forget what life was like before the Internet. Children born today meet a totally different world. What advantages lies in this and what things may be lost? As paediatricians, we need to reflect on this, with the aim to give the very best childhood to our children. No matter how far our technical development takes us, we will always be part of nature on this planet. There are laws in nature that we cannot ignore, even if we want to. Such a law is rhythm. Everything is rhythm on earth – from seasons coming and going to the rhythm of day and night, the circadian rhythms. We ourselves are rhythmic creatures, from eating and sleeping rhythm to pulsative hormone production. The circadian rhythm, if not disturbed, helps meeting the brains needs of activation and recovery. Technology does not need rhythm. It does not need recovery. But if we try to ignore or do not care about our own need for life rhythm – after a while – we will not feel well. A brain that does not get enough sleep will end up shutting down. The consequences will be bad cognitive function, problems to concentrate and remember and, in the end, even depression. In Sweden today, we see increasing psychiatric unhealth among young people (1). Many studies have shown this and we have trouble solving the problem. When the phenomenon is analysed, we find that many young people have lifestyle or rhythm problems (2). They complain of extreme tiredness, anxiety, depression, problems to concentrate, bad school results, eating disorders and even self-destructive behaviour. When we ask them about their daily life, this commonly reveals facts such as lack of sleep, irregular eating, to little exercise and long sedentary time in front of screens. The latter resulting in less social contacts in real life and less physical activity. Their important body rhythm is put out of function and we note the increasing psychiatric unhealth in this group. Why is this happening? We have reached a point in time when we need to start taking active care of our rhythm. The body and brain demand daily exercise, regular food intake and enough daily recovery. In the past, this way of living was a natural part of life that no one questioned. We lived closer to nature. The biggest digital change was when the smartphone was introduced in 2007. Recent studies show dramatic changes in human behaviour among school children, starting after the year of 2007. For example, (I) less hanging out with friends; (II) less interest for taking a drivers licence; (III) less dating; (IV) less sexual interest; (V) more likely to feel lonely (3). These facts tell us that the smartphone has made us more introverted and lonely. Long screen-time means less time for development in real life. We must remember that human beings are born very immature and sensitive. The developmental period is a long addressable time – more sensitive and vulnerable the younger the child. What is actually needed for an optimal development through childhood? The child needs time to explore in a three-dimensional world with its five senses, in movement of the body and in vital contact with other humans. Eye contact being extremely important. We know that humans, especially children, are easily bewitched by the screens. Their immaturity explains why they need adult help to limit their screen-time. What children do, and at what age, is of great importance for their healthy development. Screens can disturb this by stealing important time. In addition to stealing time from normal development, long screen-time has lots of scary side effects. In 2015, the bookReset your childs brain byVictoriaDunckleyMD, from Los Angeles USA, describes the electronic screen syndrome. The characteristics and symptoms are unfortunately often seen today in Swedish paediatric and adolescent patients. Spending long time in front of screens results in symptoms related to mood, anxiety, cognition and behaviour such as irritability, depression and rapidly changing moods. Those children often suffer from chronic stress and sleep deprivation. The younger the child, the higher the risk for electronic screen syndrome, and boys tend to have a higher risk than girls. The screen content is not as important as the amount and interactive screen-time (such as gaming) causes more dysfunction than passive (such as TV) (4).