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ANP Productions | Source: ANP
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Hilversum
Young children in the Netherlands spend more time on media than the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends. This is apparent from the so-called Iene Miene Media Survey 2022, which was held for the tenth time this year. Overuse can have harmful long-term effects, the researchers said.
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Children aged 0 to 6 years spend an average of one and a half hours a day on various media activities, such as TV, smartphone or tablet. The WHO advises that young children up to 2 years of age should preferably use as little of this type of media as possible and children up to 5 years, for example, only a maximum of 1 hour per day.
Many international studies show a link between excessive media use and health problems, the researchers said. For example, obesity, myopia, too little or difficulty falling asleep, but also the influence on school performance and dealing with other children.
“To prevent these negative effects of media, it is important that children learn to use media in a conscious, safe and healthy way at an early stage,” say the researchers, who for this study took a representative sample of 1130 parents of children in the age of 18. 0 to 6 years in the Netherlands.
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