The effects of screentime in early years on attention and language

Roughly 9 in 10 children under the age of 5 (defined here as 'early childhood') watch video streaming services and approximately 1 in 4 have their own mobile phone (Ofcom, 2023). Compared to television, current technology (i.e., smartphones, tablets) provide even more immediate and constant stimulation to young children with a wider range of content, which is much harder for adults to supervise. There are concerns that the ubiquity of screentime in early childhood is adversely affecting or will adversely affect children's cognitive development, especially their attention spans and language skills (e.g., Garcia, 2025). There are increasing calls for the UK government to produce recommendations and policies regarding young children's screentime, including from a special report by the House of Commons Education Select House of Commons Education Committee (2024). Furthermore, the Technology Secretary has suggested that regulations are forthcoming (Cohen, 2025). The intention of such policies would be to foster healthy development and reduce behavioural issues, especially in schools. There are disagreements within the public and in government concerning whether such policies are necessary, how they would be implemented and whether they would be effective. Given that caregivers with lower levels of educational attainment are more likely to provide their children with screens at earlier ages (e.g., Wiltshire et al., 2021) and for longer periods of time (e.g., Tandon et al., 2012), any negative consequences of screentime for the development of attention and language skills could exacerbate existing societal inequalities in school readiness and, ultimately, longer-term achievement.