Even an hour of projection can affect the mental health of 2-year-olds: study

Although it is known that half of mental health problems develop before adolescence, a new study indicates that damage can begin as early as two years of age .

Published in the journal Preventive Medicine Reports Scientists badyzed data from over 40,000 American children aged 2 to 17, provided by parents as part of a national survey The study is important because 20% of the world's population are teenagers. Nearly 243 million adolescents live in India

According to the study, after only one hour of screening, children and adolescents may have less curiosity, less self-control and greater emotional stability. This can lead to an increased risk of anxiety and depression. People aged 14 to 17 are more at risk of such side effects, but correlations also exist in younger children and toddlers. Kindergarten children, who frequently used screens, were twice as likely to lose their temper, the study said.

More time spent in front of the screens corresponded to less curiosity for learning. While only 9% of 11-to-13-year-olds, who spent an hour a day on screens, were not curious to learn new things, this figure was 22.6% for those whose projection time was seven hours a day or more. The US-based National Institute of Health says kids spend an average of five to seven hours on screens, but India lacks consistent data on the use of smart phones by teens and toddlers.

Study published in the International Journal of Preventive Medicine in India, an average person checks his phone every 6.30 minutes during a 16-hour waking cycle. A recent Indian poll found that 95% of children lived in homes with a cell phone while 73% of them used the cell phone, said the study IJPM . Among them, 70% belong to the age group of 7 to 10 years and 76% of the group of 11 to 14 years.