Can screen time be OK, or does it effect our children's mental health

I recently contributed to a story on the Channel 10 program The Project about screentime and what effect this can have on children and adolescent's mental heath.

The question of 'how much screentime is appropriate for my child or teen' is a topic I discuss every day with parents, children and teenagers. A 2021 poll found that it was the number one health concern for Australian parents' for their kids, ahead of cyberbyllying and diets. 

There was a study published in November 2023 in the Nature Human Behaviour journal titled 'An umbrella review of the benefits and risks associated with youths' interactions with electronic screens'. One of the authors, Dr Taren Sanders indicated that the study found the following:

• The overall size of the influence of screens across the outcomes (for example, depression, boy weight, literacy and sleep) in children were small.
• It was also found that it is not the screen itself that really matters but what is on the screen and the way kids use it.
• The study found that the more TV a child watched, the poorer their literacy skills were.
• If the program was educational, or if the child was watching with a parent, a benefit to their literacy was found.
• It was reported that some forms of screen time were consistently associated with harm with no evidence of benefits, such as social media.
• Excessive use of social media was found to be associated with depression, anxiety and risk-taking.

My take on this study, is that it is not just about spending time on a screen, but what they are doing on the screen. Recreational screen time can include watching TV, scrolling TikTok, time on Snapchat, gaming, using an iPad, to FaceTiming a relative. We need to focus more on just the amount of time spent on screens and focus on what they are doing on those screens and how they are doing it.

Interacting with your child or teen while on a device can be less harmful than a child mindlessly staring at a screen on their own. Interacting with your teen while discussing or debating ideas, while watching the news can be beneficial.

It is important to spend quality time with your child or teen and learn to be present and free from distraction. 

If you would like to discuss these strategies in more detail and discuss how they relate to your child, their individual needs and how they can be adapted to your own family,  please get in touch with us to arrange an appointment or assessment.