These Science-Backed Tips Will Help Your Kids Manage Screen Time
By Movieguide® Contributor
The American Psychological Foundation (APA) released a resource that educates parents on the impact high screen time can have on their kids’ brains while also providing tips on how to manage the amount of time they spend on their devices.
“We really want parents to feel like – rather than throw up their hands and feel like it’s totally impossible to monitor everything – give them some tools,” Mitch Prinstein, chief science officer at the APA, told NPR.
The tips that the APA released focus on helping parents understand why devices are so addictive and how they can build healthy habits into their kids’ lives to help them find joy away from their devices, rather than simply stating a screen time limit parents should aim for.
One of the most important aspects of understanding children and their screen time is understanding how their brains are wired and how a lot of our tech exploits their developing brains. When our brains are developing, we are especially attuned to social feedback. This makes features like likes and comments more powerful as kids’ brains are more engaged by and interested in them. Most platforms also mess with our brain’s reward system, providing repeated dopamine boosts, which is incredibly addictive – and developing brains are more sensitive to these chemicals.
Another important aspect of understanding screen time, according to the APA, is realizing that not all screen time is created equal. While this may seem obvious when comparing educational content to pure entertainment, this mismatch extends to different platforms as well. For example, the long-video format commonly found on YouTube is better for a child’s attention span compared to the short format found on TikTok, where users can consumer hundreds of videos in an hour. Furthermore, the content discussed within the videos is an important area to pay attention to as well.
“Content involving aggression or conflict often shows harmful interactions through physical confrontations, hostile language, or social behaviors like spreading rumors. Research suggests that frequent exposure to this type of content may reduce caring about others and make aggressive reactions seem more normal, particularly during the sensitive development period of adolescence,” the guide said.
“It’s important to remember that each teen responds to content differently,” the guide continued, noting that health content and content that reinforces harmful stereotypes can also have adverse affects on younger viewers. “Individual factors like development state, personal experiences, and current circumstances influence how content affects them. Some teens may be more sensitive to certain types of content based on their unique characteristics and experiences.”
READ MORE: APPLE TAKES STEPS TO IMPROVE CHILD SAFETY
The APA noted that encouraging kids to spend time off of their devices is also extremely important in helping them combat addiction to technology. Part of this is encouraging proper habits with their devices and making sure they are giving themselves enough time for important real world activities such as sleep, homework and face-to-face interaction.
“Today’s teens naturally move between digital and in-person spaces as part of their social world. Many feel pressure to stay continuously engaged online, worried they’ll miss important social connections or conversations,” the guide said. “This pressure can make it particularly challenging to step away from screens, even when teens themselves feel uncomfortable about their viewing habits… [Thankfully,] the heightened social pressure teens feel is a normal part of adolescent development, not a permanent state.”
Of course, helping kids manage their screen time also comes down to limiting access to their phones when they become too much of an addiction or distraction.
READ NEXT: HERE’S HOW CUTTING SCREEN TIME IN HALF CHANGED ONE TEEN’S LIFE
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