How parents can mitigate the dangers of digital media
A new meta-analysis published in The Lancet suggests that excessive screen time is linked to depression and obesity in youth. The research emphasizes that while digital media offers benefits, it requires better governance and parental support to mitigate health risks.
Why it matters
It highlights the growing public health concern regarding digital media's impact on child development and the need for systemic regulation.
In case you hadn’t heard from everyone that digital media can be bad for kids, new research warns just how harmful it can be to their health. About 20% of instances of depression and 15% of obesity cases in young people are associated with excessive screen time, according to a meta-analysis of 121 global studies of children and digital media published Sunday as part of a series of papers in the medical journal The Lancet. The research adds to the understanding of the extent to which kids’ digital media use has become a public health problem that health authorities should govern and regulate, said Louise Holly, lead author of the research on kids and digital media. It shouldn’t just fall on parents to solve these problems, said Holly, policy and research coordinator at the Digital Transformations for Health Lab, a Geneva, Switzerland-based global consortium.
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