Screen Time: Challenges and Tips for Healthy Screen Usage
(Above: a video about Screen Time by Above the Noise, co-produced with PBS and Common Sense Education.)
Millions of children, teens, and adults use and engage in screens and screentime around the world—and subsequently, millions more parents and caregivers may have concerns about how screen usage is utilized, and how children grow up alongside screens over the years.
In this blog, we’ll take you through screen time, challenges when screen time doesn’t serve us, and suggestions for improving individual and family usage around screens.
Before we start, it is important to mention we are not anti-screens. There are many social, emotional and developmental benefits that differ between families and individuals—and with much of modern day work and connection done online, it is important we learn and enjoy the screen time we have for usage over our lifetimes.
What is Screen Time?
Image description: A person seated at a desk, staring at a computer screen.
Screen time refers to the amount of time that an individual spends using electronic devices that have a screen, such as smartphones, tablets, computers, and televisions.
Screen time can include activities such as watching TV, playing video games, using social media, and browsing the internet.
Nowadays, most children grow up in a heavily tech shaped environment, with tablets and videos occupying attentions and eyeballs since birth.
Screen time has particularly risen since the outbreak of COVID-19, as schools, camps, and other opportunities for learning and entertainment found refuge online. We explore some of these other concerns (specifically online safety) in our other blog, Safer Internet Day: Exploring Children's Internet Safety.
Screen Time Benefits
Image description: Two people hold game controllers in front of a sports-based video game.
Screen time isn’t just about entertainment. Screen time can:
Help children and young people develop their creativity
Boost critical thinking skills
Help them develop healthy self-esteem
Motivate kids and teens to learn and develop new skills
Help them practice communication and collaboration
Technology can make your child's learning process more individualized and flexible. For example, distance learning can be tailored to your child's unique abilities and needs, allowing them to learn at their own pace.
“I meet young people who can regulate with their tablet, taking some time out in their day to put on headphones and sink into their safe zone, meaning they can carry on afterwards. It’s such a useful and portable way to take some time out.”
Clinical Psychologist Naomi Fisher mentions benefits to playing video games and enjoying screentime. In her twitter thread, she mentions young people who:
Find a feeling of competence in playing video games, when they feel incompetent elsewhere in their lives
Make connections through online gaming
Can self-regulate through screentime
Our past guest blogger, Tito Martin-Nemtin, also spoke openly about how online social hubs like Discord allow him to coordinate and socialize with friends while not having to manage the eye contact and social cues of in-person social interactions.
Screen Time Challenges
Image description: A child on a computer in a bedroom.
The amount of screen time that is appropriate for an individual can vary depending on their age, physical and mental health, and other factors.
Some research suggests that excessive screen time can have negative impacts on an individual's physical and mental health, including increased risk of obesity, sleep problems, and social isolation.
Excessive screen time can harm a young person's mood, mental health, and well-being with:
Mood swings and emotional regulation (eg. when screen time is taken away)
Attention difficulties (eg. sitting still without being occupied by a phone or tablet)
Difficulty sustaining attention/being present in the moment
Obesity (related to chronic sedentary activity)
Disrupted sleep patterns (eg. playing on screens late into the night)
Safety issues (if not aware/educated on internet safety)
Screen Time Strategies
Image description: A child holds a chicken nugget at a dinner table.
Do Things Apart from Technology
Establish tech-free times or events for family members.
Encourage everyone to put aside their phones, consoles, and other devices to enjoy each other's company or time alone, or have a basket, box, bag, or pocket for family members to keep phones physically away for other activities.
For example, turn off your phones at family meals (or keep them in a basket until dinner is over). Also, you can play board games with your kids after dinner, or spend time outside on weekends doing activities that would make phones difficult to have around (eg. swimming, bike riding).
Physical and Temporal Screen Time Limits
Consider creating a designated screen-free area in your home, such as a bedroom or playroom. This can help your kids understand that screens are not always available and encourage them to find other activities to do.
Limit the amount of time your children can spend using technology and the types of online activities they can engage with, especially when they are young and may not be able to navigate online games and communities safety.
However, to encourage technology boundaries, be a good role model and limit your device use. If you restrict your child’s phone usage, but you continue to use phones around them, don’t be surprised if they continue to use or request your own phone in ways that are disruptive or maladaptive.
Encourage Breaks and Physical Activity
Encourage your kids to take breaks from screens, especially if they have been using them for a long period of time. They can go outside, read a book, or play a game to give their eyes and brain a rest.
Regular physical activity can be an excellent way to help your children get away from screens. Staying active can help all family members reduce stress and anxiety and boost mood. Also, exercise can prevent obesity, improve focus and sleep, and enhance overall well-being.
Parental Modeling
As mentioned above, if you think reducing screen time is a good idea for your kids, but you still find yourself scrolling for hours around your family, then you can see why your kids may find it hard to reduce their screen time (or engage in it healthily).
As a parent, it's important to model healthy screen time habits yourself. This can help your kids understand the importance of balancing screen time with other activities.
Emphasize the Positive
Learning, communication, hanging out with friends, honing various digital hobbies (gaming, streaming, digital art, writing and blogging, programming)—if your kids are genuinely excited and interested in these hobbies, take the time to celebrate these strengths with them (as well as balancing their time with other activities).