What My Gut Knew in 2008, Research Is Confirming Today

When I started my “rage against the screens” mission back in 2008, I was simply following a gut feeling that something was bound to go incredibly wrong if our kids kept their eyeballs on screens much of the time vs. looking up, interacting, and interacting with the real world. And because it was just 2008, we hadn’t even embarked on the crazy experiment that has been the smart phone …

Well, yesterday’s gut feeling has become today’s blaring siren: research now shows that too much screen time has had a profound effect on our younger generations’ brains, social skills, and even joy.

New research following thousands of school-age kids is now showing that higher screen use – especially the interactive, interrupt-driven kind – is linked to growing attention problems, increased emotional strain, and changes in how kids engage socially as they move through elementary and middle school.

What’s really concerning is that these effects aren’t just about how much screen time kids get, but how screens train their brains to constantly shift, react, and seek stimulation.

In other words, when screens dominate childhood, imagination doesn’t just get crowded out – it gets quietly underdeveloped. That imagination muscle simply doesn't get engaged like it should. And imagination is the very skill kids need for problem-solving, empathy, resilience, and joy.

If this resonates, it might be worth asking a simple question this week: What would my child be doing right now if screens weren’t the default?

Research articles:

• Pediatrics Open Science summary (accessible):
  https://people.com/social-media-impacts-your-childs-attention-span-adhd-11865036/

• ScienceDirect review article:
  https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0190740925003913

• NIH / PubMed Central review:
  https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9113848/