Kids Are Spending More Time on Screens—But What Exactly Happens to Their Bones?

Children are spending more time on smartphones, tablets and other screens. Could reduced physical activity and prolonged sitting affect growing bones, posture and musculoskeletal health?

Pediatric orthopedic is noticing something new: children as young as eight complaining of neck stiffness, rounded shoulders, and back pain; symptoms once associated with adult desk jobs. In India, orthopedic surgeons reported a roughly 50 percent rise in pediatric orthopedic visits during the pandemic, linked to poor posture during online classes and near-total inactivity. The habits haven't fully reversed since.

What's happening to growing bodies

Children's skeletons are still developing, with open growth plates and spinal curves still forming, making them more sensitive to sustained poor posture than adults. Hours spent hunched over phones and tablets encourage a forward head position ("tech neck"), tightening neck and chest muscles while weakening the back and core. This imbalance doesn't resolve simply by putting the device down.

Equally important is what screens displace. Bone strengthens through mechanical loading , running, jumping, climbing. One regional study found over a third of children logged more than seven hours of daily screen time, and most of these heavy users reported no physical activity at all. That combination of sitting still and minimal movement is what concerns specialists, more than any single "screen injury."

Why it's easy to miss

These problems develop gradually. A child rarely says "my posture is bad", instead there is an occasional headache, stiffness, or ache after homework, easily dismissed as tiredness. Left unaddressed, it can become a fixed postural habit.

Signs:

• Persistent neck, shoulder, or back pain
• Frequent headaches
• Visibly rounded shoulders or forward head posture
• Numbness or tingling in the arms
• Pain affecting sleep or activity

What helps

The fixes are simple: movement breaks every 30 - 45 minutes, screens positioned at eye level, supportive seating, and most importantly protecting time for active play, which screens cannot substitute for. Persistent complaints deserve a proper evaluation, not a wait-and-see approach.

This isn't a new disease, but a functional, largely preventable problem, the product of hours spent sitting still and hunched forward instead of moving. Recognizing it early, through better ergonomics and protected active play, keeps it from becoming a lifelong postural habit.

-This article is authored by - Dr. Samarth Manjunath, Consultant, Paediatric & Adult Orthopaedics, MBBS, MS Orthopaedics, Fellowship in Paediatric Orthopaedics (RGUHS)