Too Much Screen Time?
I attended two barbecues with family and friends this past weekend. Everywhere I turned there was a little kid taking pictures, playing Pokemon Go, or watching YouTube videos on their parents' phones or their own iPads. Recently, I asked a student's mom how the student would handle their upcoming trip to Florida. The mom responded, "I know it's bad, but I just give her the iPad the whole time."
It seems indisputable that screen time for young children has increased over the past several years. We've all witnessed a busy parent placate their toddler with a smartphone or device.
But is it actually bad for the kids? How much has screen time increased? Is technology addiction a real thing?
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| Image from All4Kids.org |
Educators and parents may have their own beliefs regarding screen time and media use. Luckily, there are several research studies that have been conducted to answer these questions and back up our beliefs. It is important for educators to understand and research these questions, because the effects carry over into the classroom.
Common Sense Media is an independent, nonprofit organization that researches children and their technology use. I looked at one of their studies: The Common Sense Census: Media Use by Kids Age Zero to Eight (2017).
Let's take a look at some of the surprising and not-so-surprising findings...
Media Use by Kids Age Zero to Eight
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| Image from Common Sense Media |
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| Image from Common Sense Media |
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| Image from Common Sense Media |
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| Image from Common Sense Media |
As expected, most families now own smart devices, and screen time for young children has tripled over the past several years. I was very surprised to find that children in lower-income families use screen media at more than double the rate of their higher-income peers.
But what does this mean? How much is too much?
The American Academy of Pediatrics has found that there is such a thing as too much screen time. Common Sense Media and other research organizations have conducted studies regarding technology addiction and mental health effects. Overall, there is a consensus that too much screen time can negatively affect sleep, schedules, and social skills in young children. Increased screen time also means limited adult supervision. This can result in unwanted exposure to violent, sexual, and other inappropriate content.
What can we do?
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends some guidelines for young children and their screen time on their website:
- "For children younger than 18 months, avoid use of screen media other than video-chatting. Parents of children 18 to 24 months of age who want to introduce digital media should choose high-quality programming, and watch it with their children to help them understand what they're seeing."
- "For children ages 2 to 5 years, limit screen use to 1 hour per day of high-quality programs. Parents should co-view media with children to help them understand what they are seeing and apply it to the world around them."
- "For children ages 6 and older, place consistent limits on the time spent using media, and the types of media, and make sure media does not take the place of adequate sleep, physical activity and other behaviors essential to health."
- "Designate media-free times together, such as dinner or driving, as well as media-free locations at home, such as bedrooms."
- "Have ongoing communication about online citizenship and safety, including treating others with respect online and offline."
As seen in the Common Sense Media study, most children younger than 8 years old are averaging more than one and half hours in front of a screen- not including school media. This is much more than recommended by the AAP. Educators and parents should be cognizant of these guidelines when using screens with young children.
I believe the biggest takeaway is that media use for very young children can be healthy and appropriate as long as it is limited to high quality programs in short amounts of time.
Here are some other research-based organizations that look at technology use:
Hi Sarah,
ReplyDeleteI am really surprised by the fact that lower income children use screen media at twice the rate of children from a higher income. It would be interesting to research more into the reasoning of why that is. To see how much media use has increased is also quite astonishing. As educators we might talk about this or with parents, but to see it in numbers it makes a difference. If they were to factor in school screen time use, I wonder how the numbers would change. -Jannette
Thanks for such a detailed post. Part of the problem stems from US! When we give them "the iPad the whole time" to make sure they are quiet and behaving we then make it so that they can't be quiet and behaving without it- and then we complain!
ReplyDeleteSarah,
ReplyDeleteI did my blog on a similar subject and it was weird for me to see the suggestions that were given. I would think that some of them would be common in a household. A small child should be playing outside instead of spending 6 hours a day on a tablet. Media free dinners should be more common in the home instead of having to suggest that parents designate that time for them to be together. It just shows how the times have changed and how much we interact with media on a daily basis.
Sarah,
ReplyDeleteGreat post! While some of the suggestions, like Mercedes mentioned, may seem like common sense- others did not. The one about FaceTime did not even occur to me. Though I feel like technology has become a bittersweet thing, I also feel like it has helped in so many aspects of life. My parents and younger siblings live in New Orleans, and I FaceTime them daily! If I had a child, I would absolutely have my child on FaceTime so that he/she could see my parents and siblings. Overall, it seems as though we introduce technology in small ways at young ages (FaceTime, playing videos on on phones, etc), and then pretty soon we have technology dependent kids! I think it is all about moderation honestly.
Nellie
Sarah,
ReplyDeleteI was very eager to read your post once I saw your title because I have a a two year old daughter. It is interesting because even though my husband and I spoke about no screen time it is inevitable! We definitely limit her screen time. I knew overall that screen time percentages were going to rise but in most categories it tripled! That is a lot! As I read everyone's responses I was probably one of the few that was not shocked about minorities having the highest screen times. I think about the household dynamics with minority families and it makes sense. One, most families have both parents working full time jobs, which means kids might be home with their grandparents or someone else until they get out of school. So parents allow screen time ti compensate the missed time or to keep them engaged by using education apps etc. Also for some minority families, English is their second language, which is why parents support TV, Tablet, etc time because they have been told that it will help their child excel in English. I am not speaking for all, but as a teacher I have heard both from multiple parents. I think it is important to educate parents on the effects of too much screen time. We personally do not let our daughter get more than one show (20-30 mins) on weekdays and 2 on weekends. We have noticed that when we allow her to watch her show later than normal she stays up later. We make sure that TV is off at least an hour before bedtime so that she is relaxing and prepping for bed. This article was super knowledgeable! Thank you for sharing!