Too much screen time for kids! JAMA Pediatrics study and what parents can do

Screen Time Use Among US Adolescents During the COVID-19 Pandemic

This week the Journal of the American Medical Association Pediatrics released a study on youth and screen time during the COVID-19 Pandemic. They studied the screen time usage for same group of kids in 2016 and 2020. Over 5,400 kids were polled, racially diverse, about 50/50 girls to boys.

In 2020 screen time doubled for kids!

In 2016 it was already high. The 9-10 year olds were reporting 3.8 hours of entertainment on screens (online education wasn’t included). Four years later, the 12-13 year olds reported 7.7 hours of entertainment time.

Think about 7.7 hours—that’s practically a full-time job!

What’s included in “screen time”? TV, movie streaming, gaming, social media, texting, video chatting, YouTube videos, internet browsing… Any screen.

Some of this increase is to be expected as kids get older. 12-13 year olds are starting to post on social media and have more independence on how they’re spending they’re time. Most of them have their own smartphones. It’s reasonable to expect an increase in screen time.

Also some of this increase is related to Pandemic stress, “doomscrolling”, anxiety over COVID-19, not being in face-to-face school, a lack of other activities, parents who couldn’t supervise kids who were home from school.

But almost 8 hours a day?!?

If kids are online for 8 hours a day, what are they missing out on?

What is the opportunity cost for too much screen time? Kids miss out on:

• Deep connection with others

• Time for self-reflection

• Family time

• Friend time

• Sleep

• Offline activities, creativity, a chance to be “bored”

Parents, you need to be in your teen’s circle of influence.

That means spending time offline together.

The JAMA study found that there was a link between the amount of screen usage, an increase in stress and a decrease in mental health.

And the link was bi-directional. Poor mental health led to kids increasing their screen time and that led to even worse mental health. It’s a cycle that has been documented in the Facebook Files and whistleblower Frances Haugen has talked about—kids KNOW their mental health is suffering with social media, but they are unable to self-regulate.

Last month the American Academy of Pediatrics declared a national emergency in the mental health of teens and tweens. This study is more evidence that children and teens need to limit screen time.

Five things parents can do to help kids limit screen time

• Collect devices at bed time. No screens in the bedroom at night. Don’t let kids sacrifice their sleep (and safety) for screens.

• Use the app called BARK to limit screen time, set bed times, set offline times on your kids’ devices.

• Set a regular family offline time in the evenings. A chance to prep dinner, eat, chat, clean up together.

• Let your kids “blame” you as the bad guy. Suggest to your kids that they tell their friends you’re the “mean mom” who “makes” them put down their phone from 6-7pm. Your kids get an “out” and their friends will know they’re not being “ghosted”, they just have “mean” parents.

• Model what a good relationship of technology looks like. Take regular breaks from your screen. Enjoy offline activities. Prioritize the people standing in front of you.