Is early childhood screen exposure harmful to children’s mental health?

Abstract

Introduction: In infancy and early childhood, the consumption of passive, unsupervised media that is not tailored to children’s developmental level poses increased developmental risks for physical and mental health. Objective: The aim of this study was to examine the predictive effect of digital media exposure at approximately 18 months of age on children’s mental health outcomes at three years of age. Method: Using representative longitudinal data from the Cohort ’18 Growing Up in Hungary study, we investigated the impact of screen time measured at 18 months (n = 2547) on mental health indicators at three years of age (Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire). The multivariate analyses controlled for early socio-emotional vulnerability, child’s sex, as well as socio-economic, demographic and contextual factors known to influence mental health (lower maternal educational attainment, disadvantaged area of residence, younger maternal age, single parent status, financial hardship, data collection during the COVID–19 pandemic), and parental characteristics (maternal depressive symptoms, hostility). Results: The findings indicated that children’s average screen time is 85.7 minutes at 18 months of age, and 37.5% of them have a daily screen time exceeding 60 minutes. Results of the multivariate logistic regression models indicated that daily screen time above one hour at 18 months contributed to the development of psychological difficulties by three years of age, even after accounting for early socio-emotional vulnerability and maternal and socio-demographic control variables. These control variables themselves also contributed to psychological difficulties at three years of age, while taking early socio-emotional and social vulnerability into account reduced the independent effect of screen exposure. Discussion: Within this interpretative framework, early screen exposure does not act solely as an isolated risk factor; rather, it operates its effects on children’s mental health through its interaction with existing environmental, familial, and individual characteristics. Conclusion: These results support the importance of increasing parental awareness and promoting moderation in screen use during early childhood. Orv Hetil. 2026; 167(10): 396–406.