Impacts of technology on children’s health: a systematic review

Study design: Ricci RC, Pires LSA, Facina MEL, Parduci NV, González Bogado SS, Larroque MM. Data collection: Ricci RC, Pires LSA, Facina MEL, Parduci NV, González Bogado SS, Larroque MM. Data analysis: Ricci RC, Pires LSA, Facina MEL, Parduci NV, González Bogado SS. Manuscript writing: Ricci RC, Costa de Paulo AS, Borges de Freitas AKP, Ribeiro IC, Pires LSA, Facina MEL, Cabral MB, Parduci NV, Spegiorin RC, González Bogado SS, Chociay Junior S, Carachesti TN. Manuscript revision: Ricci RC, Costa de Paulo AS, Borges de Freitas AKP, Ribeiro IC, Pires LSA, Facina MEL, Cabral MB, Parduci NV, Spegiorin RC, González Bogado SS, Chociay Junior S, Carachest TN. Study supervision: Ricci RC, Larroque MM.

Authors (year)	Desig	Sample size+age groups/parents	Study quality (score)⁷, ⁹
McNeill et al. (2019)¹⁶	Longitudinal	185 children aged 3–5 years. Australia	22a
Takeuchi et al. (2018)³	Cohort	507 children (cross-sectional=284 aged 5.7–18.4 years, and longitudinal=223 aged 8.4–21.3 years). Japan	21a
Folkvord et al. (2017)¹⁵	Randomized controlled trial	562 children. Netherlands (211 children aged 6–11 years) and Spain (351 children aged 6–12 years)	18b
Yu and Park (2017)¹⁷	Longitudinal	2,840 children with mean age of 9.86 ± 0.35 years. South Corea.	20a
Slater et al. (2017)¹³	Case control	80 girls aged 8–9 years. England.	20a
Takeuchi et al. (2016)¹¹	Longitudinal and cross-sectional	429 children (cross-sectional=240 aged 5.7–18.4 years; longitudinal=189 aged 8.4–21.3 years). Japan	19a
Slater et al. (2016)¹⁴	Longitudinal	300 girls aged 6–9 years. Australia	17a
Takeuchi et al. (2015)¹²	Longitudinal and cross-sectional	1,071 children aged 5.6–18.4 years (prior to study=290; after study=235; cross-sectional=276; longitudinal: 216). Japan	20a

Authors (year)	Media type	Main results
Takeuchi et al. (2018)³	Internet	Higher frequency of internet use was associated with decreased verbal intelligence and smaller increases in brain volume after a few years. The areas of the brain affected are related to language processing, attention, memory, and executive, emotional and reward functions.
Slater et al. (2017)¹³	Games (Internet)	Internet games that focus on appearance can be harmful to girls’ body self-image.
Folkvord et al. (2017)¹⁵	Games (advergames)	Advertising games (advergames) encourage the consumption of unhealthy foods.
Slater et al. (2016)¹⁴	Television	Children are able to absorb or internalize social messages about sexualization, illustrated in the study as the desire for sexualized clothing. Internalizations had a negative impact on their body self-image.
Takeuchi et al. (2016)¹¹	Games (videogames)	Playing video games for long periods can cause direct or indirect interruption in neural systems’ development, which can be related to an unfavorable neurocognitive development, especially verbal intelligence.
Takeuchi et al. (2015)¹²	Television	Watching television affects the regional volume of the brain associated with verbal language. TV watching time was negatively correlated with verbal intelligence quotient. It can indirectly affect sensorimotor areas.

Authors (year)	Media type	Main results
McNeill et al. (2019)¹⁶	Television, Games, Apps	Use of electronic applications for less than 30 minutes a day and limited media viewing could be associated with cognitive and psychosocial development of preschool-age children.
Yu and Park (2017)¹⁷	Internet	Use of internet to socialize, exchange ideas and talk about concerns. An opportunity to socialize and make friends.

[TFN1] ^a
based on Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (Strobe)⁷

[TFN2] ^b
based on the Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials (Consort) 2010.⁹

Impacts of technology on children’s health: a systematic review

Impactos da tecnologia na saúde infantil: revisão sistemática

Abstract