Negative Impact of Daily Screen Use on Inhibitory Control Network in Preadolescence: A Two-Year Follow-Up Study

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has made an unprecedented shift in childrens daily lives. Children are increasingly spending time with screens to learn and connect with others. As the online environment rapidly substitutes in-person experience, understanding childrens neuropsychological trajectories associated with screen experiences is important. Previous findings suggest that excessive screen use can lead children to prefer more immediate rewards over delayed outcomes. We hypothesized that increased screen time delays a childs development of inhibitory control. By analyzing neuropsychological data from 8,324 children (9-11ys) from the ABCD Study, we found that children who had more screen time showed a higher reward orientation and a weaker inhibitory control system (i.e., fronto-striatal circuitry) in the brain. Importantly, we found that the interaction between screen exposure and reward sensitivity negatively influenced the development of the inhibitory control system in the brain over a two year period. These results indicate possible negative long-term impacts of increased daily screen time on childrens neuropsychological development. The results further demonstrated that screen time influences dorsal striatum connectivity, which suggests that the effect of daily screen use is a habitual seeking behavior. The study provides neural and behavioral evidence on the negative impact of daily screen use on developing children.