What Screens Are Doing to Kids’ Brains

I think a lot of times people read posts from individuals like me – ones that push the importance of play for kids – and think it's just fluff. Not really something all that important to pay attention to. I get that.

But what’s really going on in kids’ brains when they’re spending 75% of their time on screens instead of playing? And does it matter?

It matters a lot. It’s literally putting their futures at stake.

Here’s what the science is showing:

When kids spend most of their time on screens — games, videos, endless scrolls — their brains are rewiring. You may have heard the phrase: “Neurons that fire together, wire together.”

That’s not just a catchy phrase; it’s a big deal.

If you have a child who's constantly watching videos or grabbing your iPad and being fed high-speed, high-reward stimuli, her brain is wiring for constant rewards, rapid switching, and less self-control.

Sound like ADHD? Yes, it does.

Now imagine if instead that same child played offline — drawing, building, imagining, negotiating with a friend, delaying gratification. Her brain wires for patience, empathy, planning, problem-solving.

Sound like someone ready for life? Yes, it does.

I understand that putting our kids on devices seems like a great alternative to having them yell and scream in the middle of the grocery store, but the more you “calm” their brain with electronic stimuli, the more you are setting them up to not be able to handle anxiety in the future – in fact, their brains become wired to expect anxiety constantly.

This is due to the rewiring of the prefrontal cortex. This section of the brain — the brain’s “CEO” — is still developing well into the mid-20s. This is the region that handles focus, impulse control, planning, and decision-making.

Unfortunately, today’s kids, teens, and young adults are wiring this control center at exactly the same time they’re being bombarded with phones, pings, and fast-switching apps.

So children, teens, and young adults get hooked to tech during the prefrontal cortex’s vulnerable developmental stages — and their brains rapidly rewire in response to incoming stimuli.

Another important thing to understand is that our nervous system doesn’t care if stress comes from a real threat or from a glowing screen. Fight or flight still fires. When kids are constantly responding to screen-based cues — notification after notification — their nervous system stays on high alert, and the “off switch” gets harder to find. Anxiety, stress, and attention collapse follow.

This isn’t about pathologizing kids — it’s about understanding that their brains are literally wiring to expect rapid stimulation. And if that wiring dominates, it comes at the cost of patience, focus, eye contact, deep thinking…and a successful adulthood.

So yes — “kids need to play more.” The time they spend playing (offline) vs. glued to a screen changes how their brains are built.

What You Can Do

• Encourage unstructured play: build, imagine, get messy.
• Limit passive screen time, especially for younger kids (many newer studies show negative associations even for early childhood).
• Model presence yourself: put your phone down and show them how to switch off, be curious, go outside, explore. (You’ll love the freedom, too!)
• Focus on quality interaction rather than just “less screen.” The brain needs rich, real world stimulus to build strong pathways.

Bottom line: When you give a child time to play, imagine, experiment, delay gratification, and engage with real life — you’re wiring resilience, focus, empathy, creativity.

When screens dominate, children are wired for quick rewards, shallow attention, and a high-alert nervous system.

Play is a big deal.

Recommended Resources

• Effects of Excessive Screen Time on Child Development (PMC article) — links screen time to lower cognitive & language outcomes. PMC
• Screen Usage Linked to Differences in Brain Structure in Young Children (Cincinnati Children’s) — brain structural changes associated with heavy screen time. Research Horizons
• Screen Time and the Brain (Harvard Medical School) — notes that screen-based stimulation is often “impoverished” compared to real-world play. Harvard Medical School
• Hebbian Theory – “Neurons that fire together, wire together” overview (Wikpedia) — foundational neuroscience. Wikipedia+1