Nearly Half of Spanish Children Spend Over Two Hours Daily on Screens
According to the National Health Survey of 2023, nearly half of Spanish children aged between 10 and 14 spend more than two hours a day in front of screens. This usage is not for educational purposes but rather for mobile phones, video games, and social media. In the Canary Islands, concern is growing, resulting in an increase in consultations related to digital dependency among children and adolescents.
Signs of Addiction
Tamara Cabrera, spokesperson for the Official College of Psychologists of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, explains, “We are witnessing symptoms very similar to those associated with addictions: anxiety, stress, mobile dependency, and low self-esteem when there is no response on social media.”
Cognitive Development Problems
Excessive screen time is directly impacting cognitive development. Cabrera points out that children face constant and rapid stimuli, which prevent them from learning to maintain attention or complete prolonged tasks. “We are observing issues with concentration, memory, and learning, along with decreased tolerance for frustration. It seems everything can be obtained immediately, which does not align with reality,” she adds.
She emphasises that the ages between 8 and 12 are critical for the development of thought and creativity. “When these are replaced by screens, those areas are diminished, leading to a loss of essential learning for future academic and social success,” she notes.
Anxiety and Isolation
The emotional effects are also significant. Compulsive device usage leads to anxiety, stress, and dependency behaviours. Cabrera describes cases of children who exhibit irritability when they do not have access to their phones or who compulsively check their social media. “We are increasingly seeing consultations from families whose children refuse to go out, avoid birthday parties, and prefer to isolate themselves with screens,” she warns.
This pattern is becoming more common in early adolescence and is being detected at much younger ages than a decade ago.
The Impact of Abuse
Cabrera, representing the College of Psychologists, asserts that families are not always aware of the impact of excessive screen time. “We have normalised giving a child a mobile phone as a means of entertainment. It’s easier than spending time playing or stimulating creativity, but the consequences are serious,” she insists.
Model behaviour is also crucial: “Parents cannot expect their children to reduce screen time if they themselves are on their phones all day.” Cabrera recommends delaying the gifting of a phone until children are 10 or 11 years old, while encouraging traditional games, reading, and activities that foster creativity. “We have twenty thousand alternatives before putting a phone in the hands of a three or four-year-old,” she highlights.
Schools Under Scrutiny
Concerns also extend to the educational sector. Cabrera criticises many schools for replacing books with digital devices. “It is already evident that they are not equally effective. There needs to be a heightened awareness within the entire educational community to revive traditional reading and writing,” she states.
In the Canary Islands, this warning is compounded by a particularly sensitive context: the islands report higher rates of child poverty than the national average, with more than 3,600 children in Gran Canaria receiving mental health support in 2022. The risk that screen abuse will exacerbate this situation is clear. “Impact is the key term. The impact these screens are having on a generation being raised with them is yet to be fully measured in all its magnitude,” concludes Cabrera.
