The Hidden Cost of Screens: How Electronics Impact Children and Open the Door to Harm

In today’s digital age, electronic devices are deeply woven into daily life. While technology provides educational benefits, unrestricted or premature screen exposure presents risks: it can disrupt healthy brain development, emotional growth, and the shaping of moral values in children. Because children absorb what they see and hear, early, unfiltered exposure can shape their perceptions of the world, relationships, and themselves.

Today, children are using electronics at much younger ages than in the past. Devices like phones and tablets, along with unrestricted internet, put children at risk of encountering material beyond their mental and emotional ability to handle. What starts out as harmless screen use can quickly lead to exposure to inappropriate content, such as pornography.

Early Exposure and the Pathway to Pornography

Research and clinical experience consistently show that children are encountering pornography far earlier than previous generations, often accidentally and often before parents are aware. (What to Do If Your Young Child Sees Pornography, 2023) For example, consider a curious 8-year-old named Mia who was playing an innocent online game when she accidentally clicked on a pop-up ad that led her to explicit material, leaving her confused and frightened. Exposure can occur through pop-up ads, social media, gaming chats, search engines, or peer-shared content. Many children are exposed as early as elementary school, with some encountering explicit material even younger.

Seeing pornography at a young age distorts a child's healthy understanding of sexuality. Among younger children, such as those around 6 years old, this can manifest as confusion and heightened curiosity about adult content, which they might not fully comprehend. Emotional responses may include fear, anxiety, and nightmares, as their developing minds struggle to process what they have seen. In contrast, older children, such as 12-year-olds, might experience shame, guilt, and a skewed perception of intimacy and boundaries. The more mature understanding of a 12-year-old can lead them to hide their exposure, increasing feelings of secrecy and distress. Rather than a harmless curiosity, these experiences can harm a child’s ability to form healthy views about intimacy, boundaries, and self-worth—all of which contrast with biblical values.

The Impact on the Developing Brain and Heart

Children’s brains are vulnerable to repeated screen stimulation and explicit material. Overexposure to electronics impairs attention, emotional regulation, sleep, and social development. Exposure to pornography can further disrupt brain reward pathways, promote compulsion, and fuel shame and secrecy. (Growing body of research shows pornography causes lasting harm to the brain and relationships, 2025)

Exposure to explicit material can trigger anxiety, fear, guilt, and confusion in children. Spiritually, early exposure can cause lasting damage to a child’s understanding of God’s design for relationships. Without adult support, these emotional and spiritual wounds can follow children into adulthood and affect future relationships.

The Role of Parents and God’s Design for Protection

Scripture calls parents to be watchful, present, and intentional in guiding their children (Proverbs 22:6). This includes setting boundaries around technology and delaying access when possible. It also means monitoring content and fostering open, age-appropriate conversations rooted in truth and grace.

Technology itself is not the enemy, but unguarded access can be a powerful doorway to harm. While excessive screen time can be detrimental, technology also offers opportunities for growth and connection when used wisely. Engaging in constructive screen activities, such as creating music, coding educational projects, or participating in video calls with distant family members, allows technology to enrich rather than hinder development. Children need real-world connections, secure attachment, and moral guidance more than unlimited screen time. Parents who lead with love, consistency, and clarity provide a strong defense against the dangers of digital exposure.

Hope, Healing, and Restoration

If a child has already been exposed, there is hope. Shame and silence can make things harder, but careful intervention supports healing. Through supportive conversation, faith-based counseling, and proper support, children and families can recover and grow stronger.

God’s design for children is one of innocence, protection, and gradual formation. By reclaiming our role as guardians of their hearts and minds, we help raise a generation equipped to pursue truth, healthy relationships, and a future grounded in faith.