Studies indicate children frequently exceed recommended daily screen time

A preliminary analysis by the Cyprus Children First observatory reports that children aged 6 to 7 spend a median of 1.5 hours daily on entertainment and up to 1.5 hours on weekends gaming. The World Health Organization recommends a maximum of 2 hours of screen time for children aged 5 to 13, and 1 hour for those aged 2 to 4. Separately, a UK study involving 5,000 children tracked from infancy to age two found that 98% of two-year-olds use screens daily for an average of 127 minutes. Researchers from Oxford, Cambridge, and University College London observed that children with five hours of daily screen time recognized 53% of test words, compared to 65% for those limited to 44 minutes. Furthermore, 39% of those with high screen exposure showed emotional or behavioral issues. The Cypriot findings support calls for institutional measures to curb digital addiction, noting that countries like France, Spain, and Australia have restricted social media access for minors, with Greece currently considering similar legislation.