Parents, educators, tech companies, and policymakers all must act to moderate the negative effects of excessive screentime.
While the electronic world is here to stay and is impossible to dislodge, it is possible to moderate its negative effects. In this uphill battle, parents and families must become the first line of defense. It is for them to devise and enforce their expectations of a healthy electronic use lifestyle. In addition to following the American Academy of Pediatrics’ recommendation on avoiding screens for children younger than 18 to 24 months, and restricting screen time to 1 to 2 hours per day for children over age 2, adults need to limit their own screen time. Exemplary behavior from parents by replacing binge-watching with restricted or restrained viewing is likely the most effective way to wean kids away from the opium of screen viewing. Keeping bedrooms screen-free and not allowing electronic devices including tablets and other handheld devices that we or our kids may be tempted to use at night, thereby interfering with the sleep of the entire family, is especially urged.
Recommended parental actions include:
- Setting aside ‘quality’ family time with computers, phones and TV unplugged for a fixed period; using devices to block unwanted content and to automatically shut off access by children and youth to devices.
- Motivating children and adolescents to voluntarily define and adopt healthy practices like limiting time on platforms, blocking unwanted content, being careful about sharing personal information, and reaching out if they or a friend need help or see harassment or abuse on the platforms.
- Planning family outdoor and indoor activities for kids and parents to enjoy together including encouraging the art of reading, narrating, and public speaking.
- Offering time as a family for rendering voluntary service to the underprivileged.
- Visiting places of worship or merely scheduling shared quiet time to say a prayer or meditate and introspect.
Parental measures of course can only succeed if they are adequately supported by governmental and societal initiatives. Among corrective steps recommended by the Surgeon General Advisory and echoed by relevant other agencies are for:
- Researchers to prioritize social media and youth mental health research that can support the establishment of standards and evaluation of best practices to support children’s health.
- Technology companies to better and more transparently assess the impact of their products on children, share data with independent researchers to increase our collective understanding of the impacts, make design and development decisions that prioritize safety and health – including protecting children’s privacy and better adhering to age minimums – and improve systems to provide effective and timely responses to complaints.
- Policymakers to use the findings from the above as an informed basis to strengthen safety standards and limit access in ways that make social media safer for children of all ages, better protect children’s privacy, support digital and media literacy, and fund additional research.
- Educators and sports advisers to similarly draw up curricula on an informed basis to harness digital technology in ways that are beneficial to advancing student health and wellbeing while nurturing their creativity, learning and functional ability, and social skills.
Arianna Huffington, the eponymous founder of Huffington Post, and of Thrive Global, a behavior change tech company, wisely observed how “screens are a response to our hardwired need for connection, but that doesn’t mean they leave us fulfilled – in fact, studies show just the opposite. In other words, technology is great at giving us what we want, but not always so great at giving us what we need”. In a more poignant vein, she concluded, “The worst thing is what, and how much, we’re missing. Because every minute we spend connecting to the entire world through our screens is a minute we aren’t connecting with those in the room, with the world around us, or with ourselves”.
Lead picture courtesy www.theyarethefuture.co.uk
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