ArticlePloS one2021
Prevalence of excessive screen time and its association with developmental delay in children aged <5 years: A population-based cross-sectional study in India.
Article in PloS one, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 38 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
38 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 79 citations in OpenAlex.
- Association Between Exposure to Smartphones and Tablets and Motor Development in Early Childhood: A Systematic Review.Child: care, health and development · 2025Pooled it
- The Impact of Modifiable Parenting Factors on the Screen Use of Children Five Years or Younger: A Systematic Review.Clinical child and family psychology review · 2025Pooled it
- Electronic media exposure and neurodevelopment in children under 5 years of age: an updated evidence-based narrative review.Clinical and experimental pediatrics · 2026Article
- Excessive screen time and its associated factors among under-5 children in Woliso City Administration, Central Ethiopia: a community-based cross-sectional study.BMJ paediatrics open · 2026Article
- Article
- Prevalence, patterns and parental perceptions of excessive screen time among children aged 2-4 years: A cross-sectional study from a rural setting of Haryana, India.The Indian journal of medical research · 2026Article
- Article
- Prevalence of excessive screen time and its associated factors among schoolchildren in Damascus, Syria: a cross-sectional study.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Effect of Screen Time on Language Development Among Toddlers and Preschool Children in Al Qatif, Saudi Arabia.Cureus · 2026Article
- Parents' screen time, parental perception, technology-related parenting in relation to young children's screen time: a cross-sectional study.BMC psychology · 2025Article
- Screen time and sleep problems in South Indian preschoolers: a community-based cross-sectional study.BMJ open · 2025Article
- Perinatal and Childhood Risk Factors of Adverse Early Childhood Developmental Outcomes: A Systematic Review Using a Socioecological Model.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- Adherence of Children to the Indian Academy of Pediatrics (IAP) Guidelines on Permissible Daily Screen Exposure-A Hospital-Based Cross-Sectional Study from Southern India.Indian pediatrics · 2025Article
- Article
- Analysis of parental beliefs and practices leading to excessive screen time in early childhood.BMJ paediatrics open · 2025Article
- A separate set of guidelines for screen time used for recreation versus education-The need of hour for a child's education in post-COVID era.Journal of family medicine and primary care · 2025Article
- Screen time and neurodevelopment in preschoolers: addressing a growing concern in pediatric practice.Clinical and experimental pediatrics · 2025Article
- Review
- Assessing the Impact of Screen Time on the Motor Development of Children: A Systematic Review.Pediatric discovery · 2025Review
- Supervised and Unsupervised Screen Time and Its Association With Physical, Mental, and Social Health of School-Going Children in Dhaka, Bangladesh: Cross-Sectional Study.JMIR pediatrics and parenting · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
The global growth of electronic media usage among children has caused concerns regarding screen time (ST) impact on child development. No previous population-based studies have evaluated ST and child development in India. This study aimed to determine the burden of ST, associated sociodemographic factors, and its impact on domains of child development. A population-based cross-sectional study was conducted in the field practice area of rural and urban health centers in Tamil Nadu, India. A total of 718 children (396 rural and 322 urban) were selected, using a cluster random sampling method. ST estimates were obtained from parents/guardian after a 7-day observation period. The Communication DEALL Developmental Checklist was used to assess child development. The mean ST was 2.39 hours/day (95% confidence interval [CI]: 2.23-2.54), and the prevalence of excessive ST was 73% (95% CI: 69.2-76.8). Excessive ST was significantly associated with the mothers' ST, screen usage at bedtime, birth order (in children < 2 years), and attending school (in children ≥ 2 years). Increased ST was significantly associated with developmental delay, in particular, in the domains of language acquisition and communication. In children aged ≥ 2 years, a delay in ≥ 3 domains was associated with ST (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 17.75, 95% CI: 5.04-62.49, p < 0.001), as was language delay (AOR = 52.92, 95% CI: 12.33-227.21, p < 0.001). In children aged < 2 years, a delay in ≥ 2 domains was associated with ST (AOR = 16.79, 95% CI: 2.26-124.4, p < 0.001), as was language delay (AOR = 20.93, 95% CI: 2.68-163.32, p < 0.01). A very high prevalence of excessive ST was identified, with a significant association with developmental delay in children. There is an urgent need to include education on ST limits at the primary healthcare level.
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