Impact of digital media on development and physical health

The goal of screen health is to reduce the deleterious impact of the use of screens, digital content and connected devices (collectively known as the 'Internet of Things') and harmful design. That is, of any information, application, software or hardware that affects physical, mental, social, sexual or brain health. With this objective in mind, the screen health working group of the Health Promotion Committee of the Asociación Española de Pediatría (AEP, Spanish Association of Pediatrics) published the Family Digital Plan (FDP) online in 2022 based on the evidence available through 2021. The purpose of this article is to offer a review of the evidence published from 2021 and to determine whether changes need to be made to the recommendations of the FDP. It is reasonable to state that there is sufficient evidence supporting the association between screen time and the displacement of healthy lifestyle habits such as sleep, diet, physical activity and face-to-face social interactions. Furthermore, screen use also has an impact on cardiovascular risk, visual health, brain volume and quality of life. Its effects are greater in children, especially those aged less than six years, and in adolescents, as it interferes with neurodevelopment and affect integration and reduces the ability to regulate emotion. The Health Promotion Committee of the AEP considers several actions necessary: the revision of the recommendations of the FDP, declaring screen use a public health problem, improving the training of pediatricians to prevent and detect it, improving research on the use of screens in education and health care systems, the establishment of legislation by governments to protect health and development, and advocating for the requirement of rigorous research to demonstrate, from the early stages of design and development, that technological products or services are safe for the health and brain of the population.