Avoid the screen, print offers robust cognitive development

DIGITAL OVERLOAD

- UNNIKRISHNAN S @T'Puram

NCE cherished as a sensory ritual, the rustle of pages, the smell of paper, and the quiet of libraries, reading has rapidly transformed in the digital era. In children today, screens have replaced books as the default gateway to stories and information. The Covid-19 pandemic accelerated this global shift, embedding digital reading deeply into education and daily life.

But as devices load information faster than ever, something vital is being lost. Parents, educators, and researchers now ask — is print or screen reading superior for long-term cognitive health? Evidence increasingly points to print, particularly for children, where the tangible experience of a book delivers measurable advantages that digital reading cannot replicate.

Digital overload

The experience of Aarav, a nine-year-old, illustrates the potential cognitive pitfalls of excessive screen time, a reality that became exponentially common during the pandemic years. Aarav spent three to four hours daily immersed in digital content, consuming e-books, playing fast-paced video games, and watching educational videos. While his parents initially believed this content was enriching, troubling patterns soon emerged — a reduced attention span, irritability when the device was removed, difficulty expressing ideas in writing, sleep disturbances, poor retention of school concepts, and increasing social withdrawal.

His teacher observed that Aarav was bright but seemed to be “mentally jumping from one thing to another”.