Is “screen time” spent on an electronic device always detrimental for child development? While research has found that screen time is linked to deficits and delays in developmental outcomes such as communication skills, problem-solving and social interactions among young children, pediatric experts at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School say that the quality of the media and how it is consumed by children is more important than how much time is spent on devices.
“We believe that children need social interactions with adults and with other children in small groups to become well-adjusted, well-rounded and intellectually curious. There is a general belief that too much screen time doesn’t satisfy these goals, and I don’t know if that’s true for all children. Some children are not very social because of temperament differences or because of other conditions such as autism. Screen time may be valuable for them,” says Michael Lewis, university distinguished professor of pediatrics and psychiatry and director of the Institute for the Study of Child Development at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, who can offer tips for parents on how to best manage screen time for child development.
See Lewis’ tips for screen use and remote learning here: A Parents’ Survival Guide to Remote Learning.
Media interested in interviewing Lewis can contact Jillian Prior at jillian.prior@rutgers.edu.
