Screen Exposure and Early Childhood Development: Survey Findings From the Wuhan Birth Cohort Studies

With the global rise in technology use, concerns have grown regarding the relationship between screen exposure and early childhood development. However, the specific patterns of these associations, especially how different types of screen exposure relate to factors such as sleep and parent-child interaction, remain underexplored in non-Western and developing contexts.

This study draws on data from the Wuhan Birth Cohort Studies (WBCS) collected between 2021 and 2022 in China. We examine the associations between video exposure (including duration, mode and content) and cognitive and social-emotional development in children under 3 years of age.

Screen exposure of 60 min or more per day was significantly associated with lower cognitive and social-emotional development. Any duration of exposure to mobile devices negatively correlated with social-emotional development. In contrast, less than 30 min of daily exposure to educational video content showed a positive association with cognitive development, while prolonged exposure to entertainment content had adverse effects on both developmental domains. These associations were largely mediated by disruptions in children's sleep patterns and reduced maternal interaction time.

Our findings underscore the nuanced effects of screen exposure in early childhood and the mechanisms through which they operate. Policymakers should consider establishing guidelines for age-appropriate digital media use and emphasize the critical role of parental engagement and supervision in screen-related activities for infants and toddlers.