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Smartphone-free European children: goal 2050

Pediatric Research volume 97, pages 2203–2204 (2025)Cite this article

This article has been updated

Over the last year, smartphones are undergoing a shift in paradigm regarding its usage by children all around Europe. The use of screens at an early age is not yet regulated despite the many negative health outcomes and there is no consensus on the recommendations for children.1,2,3 However, slow radical changes are happening around Europe.

Once a new exciting unknown tool almost twenty years ago, the way smartphones are nowadays perceived is rapidly changing due to new evidence progressively surfacing given the growing interest in the scientific community. Research has recently focused on the impact screentime may have on children and their normal psychomotor development, with studies suggesting a broad spectrum of detrimental effects from increased obesity to altered brain functions. A decade ago, technology was being pushed into the classrooms to accommodate a fast-changing world outside, to better equip future generations to ensure they were not left behind. Nevertheless, the presence of smartphones in the everyday lives of children and teenagers has increased exponentially, as well as starting to use these devices at a younger age than a decade ago.4,5 For instance, nowadays, around a quarter of 5–7 year-olds own a smartphone in the United Kingdom (UK) according to a study published this year.6 The overall guidelines by the WHO (World Health Organization) state that screentime is not recommended among children younger than 2 years old, and screentime in toddlers between 2 and 4 years old should be no more than 1 h.7 But these recommendations are not being followed, whether due to indifference or ignorance. Last year UNESCO8 recommended stablishing clear smartphones guidelines specially tailored for children, as extended screentime can have negative effects.

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Change history

  • 14 May 2025

    Funding Information has been added to the article: “This study was supported by Grant PID2021-122272OB-I0 funded by “Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades (MICIU)/Agencia Estatal de Investigación (AEI)” of the Government of Spain and by FEDER funds/European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) –a way to build Europe-.

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Funding

This study was supported by Grant PID2021-122272OB-I0 funded by “Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades (MICIU)/Agencia Estatal de Investigación (AEI)” of the Government of Spain and by FEDER funds/European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) –a way to build Europe-.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Group of Evaluation of Health Determinants and Health Policies, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universitat Internacional de Catalunya, Sant Cugat del Vallès, Barcelona, Spain

    Laura Jovell, Ana Díez-Izquierdo & Jose M. Martínez-Sánchez

  2. Center for the Study of Healthy Screen Use (Kenko Lab), Barcelona, Spain

    Ana Díez-Izquierdo & Jose M. Martínez-Sánchez

  3. Pediatric Allergy and Pulmonology Section, Department of Pediatrics, Vall d’Hebron Hospital Universitari, Barcelona, Spain

    Ana Díez-Izquierdo

Authors
  1. Laura Jovell
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  2. Ana Díez-Izquierdo
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  3. Jose M. Martínez-Sánchez
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Contributions

L.J. wrote the original draft of the manuscript. All authors contributed substantially to the successive versions of the manuscript and approved its final version.

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Correspondence to Laura Jovell.

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Jovell, L., Díez-Izquierdo, A. & Martínez-Sánchez, J.M. Smartphone-free European children: goal 2050. Pediatr Res 97, 2203–2204 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41390-024-03700-8

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