Comparison of development, posture and reaction time in children with and without screen addiction

This study was conducted to examine the differences in development, posture, and reaction times between children who are screen-addicted and those who are not. A total of 73 children who volunteered to participate and whose parents provided informed consent were included in the study. The assessment tools used were: the Denver II Developmental Screening Test for developmental evaluation, the Problematic Media Use Measure Short Form for screen addiction, the PhysioPrint mobile application for posture, the Nelson Hand Reaction Test, and the Human Benchmark Reaction Test for hand reaction time. Our findings revealed that children identified as screen-addicted had significantly lower scores in language development and personal-social skills (p<0.001). Similarly, their gross motor skills were also significantly underdeveloped compared to non-addicted peers (p=0.007). However, no significant difference was observed between the two groups in terms of fine motor skills (p=0.064). Additionally, no significant differences were found in hand reaction times (p>0.05) or posture (p>0.05). These results suggest that screen addiction may have negative effects on certain areas of children's development. In particular, children with screen addiction showed notable delays in language abilities, personal- social skills, and gross motor skills. On the other hand, no significant differences were found in fine motor skills, posture, or hand reaction times. The lack of difference in posture may be due to the fact that postural disorders may not yet be evident in this age group (4–6 years). These findings highlight the developmental importance of carefully regulating screen time in children.