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英格兰逾150名临床医生致信政府，警告课堂大量使用屏幕可能影响儿童视力、言语与发展。本文梳理公开信中的主要证据、学校管理者的回应，以及官方正在酝酿的屏幕时间指导。

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More than 150 doctors and other health workers in England have sent an open letter to the government. They warn that heavy use of tablets and other devices in class may harm children’s physical health and development. The letter went to Education Secretary Lucy Powell and Health Secretary Yvette Cooper. The writers say schools use digital tools without fully understanding long-term effects on eyesight and speech.

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英格兰逾150名医生及其他卫生工作者向政府发出公开信，警告课堂中大量使用平板电脑等设备可能损害儿童的身体健康与发展。信件已送达教育大臣露西·鲍威尔与卫生大臣伊薇特·库珀。写信者称，学校在尚未充分了解其对视力和言语的长期影响时，就已使用数字工具。

The clinicians point to scale as well as risk. They say almost one million children now use screens in most lessons. Many of those pupils, the letter claims, spend longer on screens at school than health advice recommends for a whole day. An analysis they cite covered 276 studies and about 5.4 million people. It reported that short-sightedness among children and adolescents rose from about 24 percent in 1990 to almost 36 percent by 2023.

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临床医生强调的是规模与风险。他们表示，目前已有近100万儿童在大多数课程中使用屏幕。公开信称，其中许多学生在校使用屏幕的时间，已超过健康建议对一整天屏幕使用的建议时长。他们援引的一项分析涵盖276项研究、约540万人。该分析报告称，儿童与青少年的近视比例已从1990年的约24%升至2023年的近36%。

Concerns go beyond vision. Signatories include speech and language therapists as well as eye specialists. They argue that screen-based study can reduce face-to-face talk that young children need. More than two million children in the United Kingdom already struggle with speech and language, according to the letter. Children with special educational needs, the writers add, are often steered toward screens more quickly, even when they may need closer adult support.

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担忧不止于视力。联署者包括言语治疗师与眼科专家。他们认为，基于屏幕的学习可能减少幼儿所需的面对面交流。公开信称，英国已有超过200万儿童在言语和语言方面存在困难。写信者还表示，有特殊教育需要的儿童往往更快被导向屏幕学习，即便他们可能更需要成人近距离支持。

School leaders do not reject technology outright. Pepe Di’Iasio of the Association of School and College Leaders said education technology can be an effective learning tool. He stressed that it should sit inside a wider plan that also includes discussion, sport and time with classmates. Paul Whiteman of the National Association of Head Teachers said healthy balance matters and asked the government for clearer guidance.

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学校管理者并不全盘拒绝技术。英国学校与学院领导协会的佩佩·迪亚西奥表示，教育技术可以是有效的学习工具。他强调，技术应置于更广泛的教学安排之中，其中也包括讨论、体育和与同学相处的时间。全国校长协会的保罗·怀特曼表示，健康的平衡很重要，并要求政府提供更清晰的指导。

Officials answered carefully. A Department for Education spokesperson said the government is developing screen-time guidance for children aged five to 18 and will consult on safety of education technology in schools. Used well, the department said, technology can support learners and free teachers to teach. England also introduced a smartphone ban in schools in June. Classroom tablets and laptops, however, remain a separate question.

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官方回应较为审慎。教育部发言人表示，政府正在制定面向5至18岁儿童的屏幕时间指导，并将就学校中教育技术的安全问题征求意见。该部门称，若使用得当，技术可以支持学习者，并让教师有更多时间教学。英格兰也已于6月在学校实施智能手机禁令。不过，课堂中的平板电脑和笔记本电脑仍是另一个问题。

The debate therefore turns on balance, not a simple yes or no. Digital tools can help some students and ease teacher work. Yet the clinicians say evidence of harm is growing, even if some findings are still new. They want stronger health checks before schools buy more devices with public money. Until clearer guidance arrives, the central question remains: how much screen time in class helps learning, and how much may raise health costs?

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因此，争论的核心是平衡，而非简单的是或否。数字工具可以帮助部分学生，并减轻教师工作负担。但临床医生表示，即便部分发现仍属新近结果，损害证据也在增加。他们希望学校在用公共资金购买更多设备之前，先进行更严格的健康审查。在更清晰的指导出台之前，核心问题仍然是：课堂屏幕时间有多少真正有助于学习，又有多少可能抬高健康代价？

新闻来源

• BBC · Cut screen time in classrooms to avoid long-term health issues, clinicians urge
• The Independent · Screens at schools fuelling child health ‘crisis’, doctors warn
• The Telegraph · Screens in class damaging children’s speech and eyesight, doctors warn

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