Paediatricians raise concerns over impact of prolonged screen time amid online classes
In view of poor air quality, classes for students of Class I to XII are being conducted in the online mode by both private and government schools. However, paediatricians have raised concerns over the adverse impact of prolonged screen time on schoolchildren.
The doctors have emphasised that excessive screen time for students was a violation of the latest guidelines of the Indian Academy of Paediatrics. Besides, prolonged screen time adversely affects the overall development of schoolchildren, they claimed.
Dr Anjali Verma, Associate Professor and Paediatric Endocrinologist at PGIMS, Rohtak, said shifting to online classes should be taken as a solution for unexpected emergencies like pandemics, but it should not be made a routine affair as prolonged screen time leaves ill-effects on the mental and physical health of children.
She said, “A recent research published in the National Institutes of Health reveals that excessive screen time not only causes eye strain, headache and disruption in sleep patterns, but also adversely affects the attention span, social skills and overall cognitive development of schoolchildren.”
“A meta-analysis has also found a significant link between screen time exposure and the development of myopia in children and adolescents. Earlier, a rise in myopia cases was evident worldwide during and post the Covid pandemic,” she added.
Dr Anjali said that many parents coming in paediatric OPD at the PGIMS, Rohtak, don't find these classes much useful. They rather face a lot of issues helping their kids in taking online classes, especially at primary level.
Dr Anjali said, “As per the Indian Academy of Paediatrics’ latest guidelines, children aged between two and five years should not have more than an hour of supervised screen time per day and each session should not be more than 20-30 minutes.”
“Screen time should be confined to less than two hours daily for children aged between five to 10 years, while in adolescents (10-18 years), screen time should be balanced with other activities such as outdoor physical activity, night sleep between eight and nine hours, peer interaction and family time, which are essentially required for overall development,” said Dr Anjali.
Echoing similar concerns, Dr ND Vaswani, Professor, Paediatrics, said online education does not comply with the 20-20-20 rule, a popular eye health practice.
Designed to prevent eye strain, this rule advises taking a 20-second break every 20 minutes to focus on something at least 20 feet away. However, during online classes, children are often required to sit continuously in front of a screen for 30-40 minutes without any breaks, he added.
“Now, this is the time to rethink whether we are doing more harm to our children in their formative years. In developing countries like ours, digital divide always remains an important issue with online classes, especially in rural and low-income settings. Not all families have equal access to technology. Assessment of actual usefulness of such teaching for children in primary years should be done before imposing such classes,” he pointed out.
Dr Rajni Sharma, another faculty of Paediatrics at AIIMS, New Delhi, said they would have to pay a heavy price for air pollution as it was affecting the healthy life of future generations.
“Every year, schools are closed in November on account of poor air quality. Relying on online classes is not the solution to air pollution. Children need outdoor play and activity in children for optimal physical and mental health. Restricting outdoor play and online classes are detrimental in the long run,” she added.
Dr Rajni maintained that the government should take strong steps to prevent the problem of air pollution, which was happening almost every year. Long-term solutions like reducing smog emissions from vehicles and industries, increasing green spaces and promoting the use of clean energy sources were required, she added.
Hampering social, cognitive development“A recent research published in the National Institutes of Health reveals that excessive screen time causes eye strain, headache and disruption in sleep patterns. It also adversely affects the attention span, social skills and overall cognitive development of schoolchildren.” -- Dr Anjali Verma, Associate Prof & Paediatric Endocrinologist at PGIMS, Rohtak
