30 November 2023 , 07:48
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Today's children have so much free and easy entertainment at their fingertips, it's impossible for them to imagine a world without tablets, smartphones and the internet.
But allowing your child such an electronic device is like 'giving them a gram of cocaine' says top addiction expert Mandy Saligari - adding that excessive screen time is a very serious problem indeed.
She said: “I always say to people, when you’re giving your kid a tablet or a phone, you’re really giving them a bottle of wine or a gram of coke. Are you really going to leave them to knock the whole thing out on their own behind closed doors? Why do we pay so much less attention to those things than we do to drugs and alcohol when they work on the same brain impulses?”
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Today's parents are the first generation having to strike that delicate balance between giving their child what they want - which let's be honest is usually a smartphone or tablet - and then making sure they don't get too much of it.
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Most parents will be familiar with the clamour from their offspring to 'have some tech time', or the tell-tale signs of them disappearing into their bedroom and being suspiciously quiet. One concerned dad told The Mirror: "We have to be very careful how long our children spend on their tablets. Any more than an hour and they get incredibly cranky and distressed when you take the device away from them.
"If my son was left to his own devices - quite literally - he would happily sit on his tablet all day if left unchecked. I think it's a serious problem these days, and one that's experienced by parents up and down the country," he said.
So how much screen time is too much?
There are very clear guidelines on how much screen time kids should have – and it’s capped at one hour per day if under five, increasing to two hours a day up to aged 17.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), this strict limit should be rigorously enforced for those aged between two and five years old. It also recommends babies and toddlers avoid any sedentary screen time - including watching TV or sitting still playing games on devices - until the age of two. While the American Academy of Pediatrics advises parents to set reasonable limits on 'tablet time', a 2010 study carried out by the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation revealed that children aged 8 to 18, on average, spend 7.5 hours a day on entertainment media - far exceeding the recommended limits.
Negative effects of too much screen time on kids
Evidence points towards excessive screen time posing a number of risks. Here's an overview of findings from various studies:
Behavioural issues: Children in primary school who spend more than two hours a day watching TV or using a computer are more likely to encounter challenges related to emotions, social interactions, and attention.
Educational challenges: Primary school children with televisions in their bedrooms tend to perform less well in academic assessments.
Obesity concerns: Excessive engagement in sedentary activities, such as watching TV and playing video games, can contribute to the risk of overweight issues.
Sleep disruptions: While many use TV as a means to unwind before bedtime, screen time before sleep can have adverse effects. The light emitted from screens disrupts the brain's sleep cycle, potentially leading to insomnia.
Violence exposure: Exposure to violent content in TV shows, movies, music, and video games may desensitize children. Over time, this desensitization could lead them to resort to violence as a problem-solving method, potentially imitating what they observe on TV, as noted by the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.
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What about adults?
Perhaps surprisingly there isn’t actually a recommended maximum number of screen hours for us grown-ups, but there is clear evidence that too much of it can badly affect your health. For example, this study published by the National Library of Medicine discovered that anyone spending six hours or more per day gazing at a screen had a higher risk of depression.
And this study published by Guildford Press Periodicals noted that restricting social media use to half an hour a day lead to a ‘significant improvement in well-being’. Experts say adults should limit their screen time outside of work to less than two hours per day. The 'gained' extra time should then be channelled into some physical activity.
What do you think? How much screen time do you think kids should have a day? Take our poll above and join the discussion in the comments below