Docs warn of rise in health risks in kids due to too much screen time
Lucknow: Doctors from
King George's Medical University
(KGMU) on Saturday warned that children spending long hours on phones, tablets and TVs are facing a rise in health problems ranging from obesity, myopia and sleep disturbances to depression, suicidal thoughts and aggressive behaviour.
Addressing an awareness programme for over 100 teachers and counsellors, head of the psychiatry department, Prof Vivek Agarwal said that the developing brains of pre-schoolers are particularly vulnerable. Excessive screen exposure, he explained, can blunt attention span, delay language development, and weaken emotional control and social skills.
Adding to the discussion, Prof Amit Arya from the same department highlighted that unregulated digital use is contributing to a rise in ADHD-like symptoms, autism-spectrum traits, substance abuse and growing cases of cyberbullying, internet addiction and gaming or gambling-related disorders.
Offering practical solutions, Prof Pawan Kumar Gupta urged schools and parents to promote "
digital hygiene
" by implementing written screen-use agreements between students and guardians, setting fixed daily limits, creating device-free zones at home, encouraging outdoor play and introducing structured lessons on online safety and responsible digital citizenship. He also raised concerns about the growing misuse of sexually explicit emojis and coded messages among teenagers, stressing the need for stronger policy safeguards.
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The experts referred to the Indian Academy of Paediatrics guidelines, which recommend zero screen time for children under two and a supervised one-hour limit for those aged 2-5. However, post-pandemic trends reveal that many children now spend more than four hours a day on screens, often unsupervised.
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