新加坡政府机构A*Star与新加坡国立大学团队在2025年12月30日发布并于《The Lancet》eBioMedicine刊登研究：追踪168名儿童超过10年，并在3个时间点进行脑部扫描，检视早期萤幕暴露与后续大脑发展与心理表现的关联。

结果显示：在2岁前萤幕暴露较高的儿童，其与视觉与认知控制相关的脑网路出现「加速成熟」的改变；研究者推测可能来自萤幕提供的强烈感官刺激。相较之下，3至4岁量测到的萤幕时间并未呈现相同效应。

在后续测量中，具有「脑网路改变」的孩子在8.5岁时决策速度较慢，且在13岁时焦虑症状较高。研究也提到同团队于2024年的另一项工作，指出家长透过更频繁的共读与面对面互动，可能有助于抵消部分被动萤幕时间相关的脑部改变；同时各国正面对儿少萤幕使用上升，新加坡教育部也宣布自1月起在中学校内加强限制智慧型手机与智慧手表使用。

A Singapore government agency team with the National University of Singapore reported findings on Dec. 30, 2025 in The Lancet’s eBioMedicine. The study followed 168 children for over a decade and performed brain scans at three time points to assess links between early screen exposure and later outcomes.

Higher screen exposure before age 2 was associated with “accelerated maturation” in brain networks tied to vision and cognitive control, possibly reflecting intense sensory stimulation from screens. Screen time measured at ages 3 and 4 did not show the same pattern.

Children with altered brain networks took longer to make decisions at age 8.5 and showed higher anxiety symptoms at age 13. Related 2024 work by the same team suggested frequent shared reading and more in-person engagement may counter some effects of passive screen time, as governments respond to rising youth device use; Singapore will curb smartphones and smartwatches in secondary schools starting in January.