It has been shown that reducing screen media usage time on smartphones, computers, and TVs for just two weeks can improve children's mental health.
On the 15th, Dr. Jesper Schmidt-Petersen's team at the University of Southern Denmark in Denmark announced the results of a two-week randomized clinical trial that reduced screen media time among Danish families with children and adolescents, published in the medical journal JAMA Network Open.
The research team recruited 89 families (a total of 181 children) with at least one child aged 6 to 10 years in southern Denmark. Forty-five families (86 children, average age 8.6 years) were randomly assigned to a group that reduced screen media usage time, while 44 families (95 children, average age 9.5 years) were assigned to a group that maintained their usual usage time. After two weeks, they compared and analyzed the mental health of the children.
The screen media reduction group returned all smartphones and tablets of every child and at least one adult (preferably all adults in the household) for two weeks, and also reduced their leisure time screen media use, such as TV or computers, to less than 3 hours per week.
Participants who returned their smartphones were provided with a basic phone capable of making calls and sending text messages, and all participants registered all screen media used during leisure time in the experimental period. Additionally, participating households were given 70 euros (approximately 105,000 won). In the two-week experiment, 83 out of 86 children and adolescents (97%) in the group that reduced screen media use adhered to the regulations.
The results comparing the mental health status of children and adolescents in the two-week screen media reduction group and the control group showed that reducing screen media use has a statistically significant positive effect on overall behavioral disorders in children and adolescents.
The research team stated that the group with reduced screen media use showed the most noticeable decrease in internalized behavioral problems such as emotional symptoms and peer problems, as well as an improvement in positive social interactions.
The research team stated that this study is the first family-based randomized clinical trial to investigate the effects of leisure screen media use on the mental health of children and adolescents, and that the results show that even a short-term reduction in screen media usage can improve psychological symptoms in children and adolescents.
(Photo = Yonhap News)
