Screen Time and Health of Children and Adolescents

In the period of self-isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic the time of contact of children and adolescents with technical means of Internet access has significantly increased, and accordingly time of contact of the students with device screens also increased. In turn, this significantly affected the health of students. Not all countries of the world have hygienic regulations in this area. Nevertheless, almost all countries of the world are trying to find ways to optimize the length of screen time for children and adolescents and are preparing recommendations to prevent negative health consequences. For the purposes of this study, we have reviewed the literature of recent years, reflecting the results of both individual and national studies focused primarily on identifying the causes of deterioration of the health of children and adolescents under the influence of digital technologies. The most significant changes, that can be caused by increase in screen time are disorders of mental health and sleep. Further consequences are disorders in the musculoskeletal system coupled with pain syndrome, metabolic disorders and obesity, hypodynamia. The indirect consequences are behavioural disorders and, in a broader sense, problems in the socialization of the child. It is currently not possible to exclude the use of various technical means. Moreover, they are used not only for entertainment, but also for educational purposes, and during the COVID-19 pandemic, they have often become the only means of any external communication and activities. In these conditions, it is necessary not only to know about the causes and consequences of the negative impact of technical means and various indicators, including screen time, but also to have an idea of approaches and ways to prevent their negative impact.