Screen Time in Infancy and Early Schooling Linked to Poorer Academic Performance and Working Memory
核心洞察
A longitudinal study of 502 children from the GUSTO birth cohort found that higher screen viewing at age 1 showed the strongest association with poorer later academic performance and weaker working memory.
Screen exposure at ages 2 and 3 showed no significant links, but associations re-emerged at age 6, coinciding with the transition into formal schooling.
Researchers suggest infancy and the start of formal education may be sensitive periods when screen habits carry longer-term implications for learning and memory.
Higher screen viewing during infancy and near the beginning of formal schooling is associated with poorer academic performance and weaker working memory later in childhood, according to a longitudinal study published in the World Journal of Pediatrics. The research, conducted by investigators from Inserm and the National University of Singapore, tracked 502 children from infancy into middle childhood using data from the Growing Up in Singapore Towards healthy Outcomes (GUSTO) birth cohort.
The study examined parent-reported screen viewing at six different ages and compared those measurements with children's academic performance and working memory several years later. The clearest patterns emerged for screen exposure during infancy and near the start of formal schooling, indicating that these periods may be particularly sensitive for cognitive development.
Age 1 Showed the Strongest Association
"The effect sizes we saw at age 1 were the largest among all time points we examined," the authors said. "That suggests early infancy may be a window of heightened sensitivity, when the developing brain is particularly vulnerable to the displacement of learning interactions by screen time. We were also surprised to see that while screen use at age 2 and 3 did not show significant links, the associations re-emerged at age 6 -- when children enter formal schooling. So it is not just about early years; screen use later in childhood still matters."
The pattern was not identical at every age. Screen viewing at ages 2 and 3 was not significantly associated with the later outcomes measured in the study, but the relationship appeared again at age 6. That timing coincides with the transition into formal education, when children face increasing demands on attention, memory, and learning.
Children who accumulated more screen exposure across childhood also tended to perform less well academically. Together, the findings suggest that total viewing time is only part of the picture. The age at which heavier screen use occurs may also be important, with early childhood potentially representing a period when screen habits have longer-term implications for learning and memory.
Why the Timing of Screen Use May Matter
According to the researchers, the results support the general principle that "less is better" for children's screen exposure. An additional hour of viewing each day may not produce an obvious effect in every individual child, but relatively small changes across an entire population could still shift a meaningful number of children toward poorer academic outcomes.
Efforts to reduce screen viewing may therefore be most useful when they begin during infancy and are reinforced as children approach school entry age. The researchers also caution that screen duration alone does not capture the full picture. Future studies should investigate whether developmental outcomes differ depending on the quality of the content children watch, the type of device being used, and whether parents watch alongside their children.
The GUSTO study was supported by the Singapore National Research Foundation and the Singapore Ministry of Health's National Medical Research Council (NMRC/TCR/004-NUS/2008 and NMRC/TCR/012-NUHS/2014). Additional funding came from the Agence Nationale de la Recherche (ANR) in France (iSCAN project, ANR-20-CE36-0001).