It would be difficult indeed to run a long-term, randomized study in which children were assigned to different amounts of screen time each day and then tracked over their life spans to measure well-being outcomes. Isolating the effects of screens from all the other experiences kids are exposed to is a challenge as well. Many studies lump all screen time together into one category, though it seems unlikely that video chatting with Grandma, for example, would have much in common with playing “Grand Theft Auto V.” And not all research effectively differentiates between different types of screen time. However, some critics charge that much of the research backing up the guidelines is correlational, cross-sectional or based upon self-report-though there are longitudinal studies in the mix, too. In its guidelines on physical activity, sedentary behavior and sleep for young children, WHO similarly recommends no screens for kids under 2, and less than an hour a day for kids 2 to 5. It has also developed the Family Media Use Plan for older kids, in which parents and children negotiate limits and boundaries around screen usage. AAP calls for no screen time at all for children until 18 to 24 months, except for video chatting, and says kids ages 2 to 5 should get an hour or less of screen time per day. Television and video games have been around for decades, of course, but never so portably and easily accessed.Īmid this rapid change, professional organizations such as the World Health Organization (WHO) and American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) have stepped in with recommendations. In all the popular-media hubbub and scientific debate over screen time, it’s easy to forget how quickly these issues have evolved: The first-generation iPhone was introduced only 13 years ago, in 2007, the same year Netflix introduced streaming services. “We have ideas, but the problem is that the technology is getting more and more sophisticated and more ubiquitous.” We’re not there yet,” says Jerri Lynn Hogg, PhD, a media psychologist at Fielding Graduate University. “As psychologists, it’s really important for us to have scientific-based evidence behind what we’re recommending. Meanwhile, many questions remain about how much screen time is too much and about the effects of different types of activities that involve screens. Nevertheless, total abstinence from recreational screen time may backfire for older kids and teens. As kids get older, they can learn meaningful information from screens, but the ubiquity of digital devices also means that children can easily spend far too much time being sedentary. The picture that has emerged suggests that the youngest children don’t learn well from screens. In particular, they’re studying both the potential benefits of screens-if they can be used as teaching tools-and the potential physical and mental health drawbacks. And they’re buckling down for the long haul, building new longitudinal studies that will help answer complex questions about kids, teens and screens. They’re looking at the environment that surrounds screen time, including parenting and socioeconomic status. Researchers are now paying close attention to the kinds of content kids are consuming via digital devices. That’s now beginning to change as psychologists and other child development experts take a deeper and increasingly nuanced look at children’s and teens’ use of tablets, phones and other screens. In reality, though, screen time research has been less than definitive, mainly owing to a lack of strong longitudinal studies to date. By the time research on screen time reaches the public, it’s often framed in black-and-white terms: guidelines setting out strict time limits, or news reports with titles like “Are Screens Bad for Kids?”
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