A multinational study of tablet use among young children indicated that the technology led to higher rates of anger and frustration. The findings of the study were published Monday in JAMA Pediatrics.
The study looked at the tablet use of children at age 3 1/2. The study found that a 75-minute increase in tablet use was associated with a 22% jump in anger/frustration among children one year later. The study also noted that children at age 4 1/2 who expressed higher levels of anger and frustration tended to use tablets more when they reached 5 1/2 years old.
The study suggests that "early childhood tablet use may contribute to a cycle that is deleterious for emotional regulation."
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The study's authors expressed concerns that the growing use of such devices is causing children to be more angry. It noted that the average amount of time a 4-year-old spent on a tablet increased from 50 minutes in 2020 to 55 minutes in 2022.
"The preschool-age years represent a sensitive period for the development of emotional regulation skills," the authors wrote. "Children who spend more hours using screens may forfeit opportunities to engage in activities, such as interactions with caregivers or free play with other children that are essential for rehearsing and eventually mastering self-regulation. Children who fail to develop the ability to effectively manage outbursts of anger and frustration in particular are then likely to face poor health, academic, and psychosocial outcomes."
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The researchers said that parents should set limits on how much time their children spend using a tablet.
"Child ability to effectively downregulate anger and frustration eventually play an important role in the ability to delay gratification and successfully meet the demands of early schooling and future health," the authors wrote. "Screen use in general and mobile device use in particular are increasingly present in the lives of young children. Our study suggests that parents be sensitized that tablet use in early childhood can disrupt the ability to manage anger and frustration and lead to increased outbursts in young children."
Researchers from the Université de Sherbrooke, University of Johannesburg, Universidade Federal de São Paulo and Université Sainte-Anne authored the study.
