Some of the largest and most respected studies suggest that while kids who are already struggling might retreat online, there is very little evidence that the arrow of causation points the other way. — Photo by charlesdeluvio on Unsplash
If parents are in the market for a New Year’s resolution this year, plenty of alarmed experts are happy to offer them suggestion – drastically cut back on your kids’ screen time.
A moment of panic about kids’ screen time
Last year, panic about phones rotting kids’ brains went viral for a cluster of reasons. The runaway success of Jonathan Haidt’s bestseller The Anxious Generation spawned countless panicked think pieces. That media storm was coupled with many people’s firsthand experience of how screen time can become addictive, isolating, and unhealthy. Sprinkle on genuinely scary data on the declining mental health of young people, and you have the perfect recipe for parental worry.
The alarm isn’t baseless. Phones can distract from academics (and sleep). Social media can encourage unrealistic body standards. Group chats can descend into cellpits of bullying. But despite the media flurry around these very real dangers, the actual science on screen time rotting kids brains in general is foggy at best.
Some of the largest and most respected studies suggest that while kids who are already struggling might retreat online, there is very little evidence that the arrow of causation points the other way. Lots of screen time, in itself, just doesn’t seem to be linked to terrible outcomes.
As Scientific American memorably put it, “Technology use tilts the needle less than half a percent away from feeling emotionally sound. For context, eating potatoes is associated with nearly the same degree of effect.”
Should you panic about your kid’s screen time?
That creates a quandary for parents considering new boundaries around screens this year. Yes, for some kids and in some situations, screens can be harmful. But in general popular claims that smartphones are “destroying a generation” are often overblown. Plus, with screens embedded in so many aspects of our everyday lives, the practicalities of setting better boundaries is often challenging.
So is it worth making better phone habits a goal for your family this year? Recently on Medium psychologist Constantin Patrascu used his experience as a parent and mental health professional to dig into this question.
The whole article, which has blown up on the platform, is worth a read. But one section struck me as particularly useful to parents. In it, Patrascu runs through four specific questions they can ask themselves to determine whether worry about their kid’s screen time is justified. Or whether they’ve been overly alarmed by recent media chatter. Here they are in brief.
1. Are screens preventing essential activities?
Patrascu calls this question the “Displacement Test.” Much of the time the problem with kids and screens isn’t the screens themselves. It’s what the screens are crowding out.
“If my kid is sleeping well, playing actively, connecting with family and friends, and doing okay in school, then I’m not concerned about their YouTube habit. But if they’re staying up until 2 a.m. on TikTok and can’t wake up for school? Or refusing to go outside because they’re glued to a device? That’s a displacement problem,” he writes.
Economist and author Emily Oster, who frequently debunks panic headlines freaking parents out on her site ParentData, has looked at the research and agrees with Patrascu. Most of the dire warnings about screen time are overblown. But parents should still worry about the opportunity cost of screens.
“In economics, when we think about the cost of anything, we think about both the obvious up-front cost (which we call the ‘accounting cost’) and also the foregone other uses of the money (the ‘opportunity cost’),” she writes. “In the case of screens, the opportunity cost of screen time is the other stuff your child would be doing.”
She offers her own version of the displacement test: imagine if instead of doing whatever they’re doing on the iPad your kid was staring at a blank wall. Screentime is not especially beneficial or especially harmful, but it definitely shouldn’t be crowding out relationships, play, or anything else more important than watching paint dry.
2. Are their screen-based activities garbage?
“Not all content is equal. Bluey is not the same as random iPad games designed to trigger dopamine hits every three seconds. Minecraft, where my kid is building complex structures and problem-solving, is not the same as mindless scrolling,” insists Patrascu.
What’s important isn’t just the sheer number of hours your kid is in front of a screen. It’s also what they’re doing on that screen. It’s a point the American Academy of Pediatrics made as well when they released their updated guidance relating to kids and screens.
“These evidence-based guidelines do not give a set screen time limit that applies to all children and teens,” the AAP has explained. “Because children and adolescents use screen media for a variety of activities… we recommend considering the quality of interactions with digital media and not just the quantity, or amount of time.”
3. Is technology replacing human connection?
Patrascu called this ‘Relationship Test’ and insists it’s “the big one.” “Is my daughter FaceTiming her grandmother across the country? Beautiful use of technology. Is my son learning to code through online tutorials? Fantastic,” he writes. “But kids using screens to avoid family interaction, or parents using screens as a constant babysitter to avoid engaging with their children? That’s where problems develop.”
4. Do they struggle to stop when asked?
This is a huge issue in my experience as a parent, so I was happy to see it reflected in Patrascu’s four questions. Often the problem isn’t just what kids do when they’re on their screens, but also what happens when you ask them to get off.
If your kid throws a fit when you ask them to put down the iPad, or if they are unable to cope with boredom without reaching for electronic entertainment, then that’s far more concerning than the simple fact they spent six hours playing Minecraft one rainy Saturday.
So what should you do if you notice your kid is grumpy and addled when you separate them from their screen? Patrascu offers a somewhat controversial take: “Kids develop these skills partially through having access to screens and learning to manage them, not by being completely restricted from them.”
He has some research on his side. One study found that kids who had the strictest screen controls as kids actually did worse academically in university later on. Why? The researchers hypothesised that they struggled more to regulate their own technology use because they had never practised that skill independently.
Talking to your kid about their behavior and developing a plan to help them develop better self management often may beat blanket bans and constant parental hovering.
Another New Year’s resolution: chill out kids and screens
Screens and kids can be a fraught topic. No parent wants their kid to rot their brain and destroy their attention span. But unwarranted panic isn’t helpful either. Finding that Goldilocks point of concern can be difficult. Helpfully, Patrascu’s four questions offer concrete guidance.
If you answer yes to these questions, maybe it’s time to set some new ground rules for technology use in your family this year. (Here’s some advice on how to do so.) But if you can honestly say your kid’s screen time isn’t crowding out fun, learning, and connection, then maybe worry less about alarming headlines and more about enjoying your time together as a family instead. – Inc./Tribune News Service
