Health risks spark debate over digital school homework for children
A warning issued by British physicians regarding the excessive reliance on computers and tablets in educational institutions has sparked growing questions among families and educational circles as to whether digital school homework imposes additional and unwarranted time burdens in front of screens. In this context, the British newspaper "The Independent" reported that more than 150 doctors and specialists in pediatrics, ophthalmology, audiology, and speech therapy urged the government to establish clear health standards for utilizing educational technology in schools, stressing that the introduction of digital devices and platforms into classrooms and homework assignments occurred without adequate evaluation of their cumulative health impacts on children. A major part of these warnings is based on a comprehensive scientific review published by the journal "JAMA Network Open," which analyzed the findings of 45 studies encompassing 335,524 participants, with an average age of approximately 9 years. The researchers' findings revealed that each additional hour children spend daily in front of screens is associated with a 21 percent increase in the likelihood of developing myopia, with this rise being more pronounced when daily usage ranged between one and four hours. The types of screens included in those studies comprised mobile phones, tablets, computers, video games, and television sets. Although these data do not necessarily mean that the screen itself is the direct cause of nearsightedness—as researchers classified the overall certainty level of the evidence as "low" due to significant variation among studies—they reinforce previous evidence linking nearsightedness to frequent activities requiring close-up vision, alongside a reduction in time spent outdoors. Scientific estimates suggest that nearsightedness could affect about half of the world's population by the year 2050, amid an increase in early-onset cases that subsequently elevate the risks of more serious conditions such as retinal detachment, glaucoma, and macular degeneration. The concerns of British physicians are not limited to the visual aspect alone; as indicated in the document conveyed by "The Independent," signatories warned that excessive use might also negatively impact linguistic and social interaction skills among younger children. Along the same lines, a study published in "JAMA Pediatrics" showed that a 3-year-old child spending about 3 hours daily in front of a screen may miss, compared to those with lower usage, approximately 1,139 words spoken by adults and 194 conversational turns throughout the day. Furthermore, a study involving 1,878 children aged 12 to 48 months across 19 countries in Latin America found a correlation between increased screen time and a decline in certain language skill indicators, whereas joint reading with parents was associated with better linguistic outcomes.
