Screen Time

By Megan Anderson

What is screen time?

The definition of screen time varies across research, families, communities,
professions, etc. However, screen time is generally defined as any interaction with a
screen, including cell phones, tablets, televisions, video games, and computers.
According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, today's generation of children and
adolescents is growing up immersed in media. Such media includes platforms that
allow users to both consume and create content, including broadcast and streamed
television and movies, sedentary and active video games, social and interactive media
that can be creative and engaging, and even highly immersive virtual reality.
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Recognition
Sesame Street
Sesame Workshop and advocacy organization Common
Sense aimed to address kids’ unhealthy use of mobile
devices by focusing an episode on the importance of a
“device free dinner” by placing all devices in a drawer.

News
Screen time is increasingly being recognized by the news
media. One particular mention was Diane Sawyer of ABC
News’ six month study & report on how screen time is
affecting us and what we can do about it, pushing readers
to participate in the #ScreenTime challenge.

Pros and Cons

Pros Research has shown positive associations between joint media engagement of age-
appropriate, well-designed media content and child outcomes. For example, exposure to
educational television programming is associated with better cognitive outcomes, particularly
for families with a lack of resources. Using technology for educational purposes is one of the
most commonly agreed upon positives associated with screen time. Teachers have been able
to implement screen and media device use within their classrooms. Studies further revealed
that following co-engagement and guided exploration by their teachers, children became more
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engaged and gained new understandings through the utilization of tablets. In regards to
literacy development, pre-service teachers expressed that integrating computers in their
teaching had positive outcomes in terms of instruction as well as enhancement of literacy skills.

Other positives include the use of technologies such as Skype and FaceTime to link babies in
real-time to distant family members or to deployed military parents. Which leads to the
possibility of parents interacting with their babies and new technologies producing prosocial
results. For example, one study of 15-month-olds found that when their parents talked about
what they were seeing and doing on a touch screen, the toddlers were 22 times more likely to
transfer learning from the device to a real object.

Further, devices such as computers, mobile phones, technological toys, and games have been
found to contribute to young children’s operational skills, knowledge, and increased
understanding of the world.

Cons A common negative associated with media, technology, and screen time is its
interference with real-life experiences. Infants will quickly develop an attachment to media that
is lifelong and difficult to control or decrease. There are also many fears about what children are
being exposed to in certain elements of the media, specifically violence and advertising, that
they’re psychologically and intellectually incapable of dealing with.
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Screen time for young children is a direct and potentially causal factor in childhood,
adolescent, and adult obesity. When screen time exceeds the recommendation of two hours
per day for young children, it has resulted in a major increased risk of obesity later on, along with
other negative outcomes including aggression.

In regards to language and cognitive development, school achievement and executive

functioning, media as subtle as background television has a negative impact. For example,
infants spend significantly less time playing with a toy when the TV is on, even if the child is not
actually watching the TV. The loud and sudden noises and changes in light intensity may be
distracting. Similarly, when the TV is on in the background, parents pay less attention to their
infants. Such impacts result in very negative developmental outcomes. Executive functioning is
crucial in school readiness and refers to the ability to apply previous experience to present
situations, develop organizational skills, and to remember details.

Parental cell-phone usage can also be problematic for children. Parents’ faces tend to lack expression
when they’re checking cell phones, which can be perceived by young children as a “still face,” which
children respond to aversively.

Overall, research studies have resulted in a long list of cons related to media, technology, and screen
time. Too much exposure or inappropriate exposure has been shown to increase obesity, aggressive and
violent behavior, bullying, create a desensitization to violence, lack of empathy to victims, induce fear,
depression, nightmares, sleep disturbances and an overall decrease in sleep quality, poorer social skills
and compliant skills, unhealthy attachments and habits, poor language development as well as cognitive
development and executive functioning, among other things.
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Caregivers' Opinions
One study explored the perspectives of parents and teachers of preschool aged children
from three diverse centers and examined the media, technology, and screen time (MeTS) usage
across the centers. Caregivers from all three of the centers agreed on several survey statements
including, “Media can expand children’s knowledge; A child is perceived as behind if they do not
know how to use a mouse and are not familiar with a computer by the age of 3 ½, Electronic
books are not different from printed books, Media violence is not just a reflection of violent
society; it is also a contributor, and One of the most significant contributors to violent behavior
in society is the increase in the amount of violent acts observed by children through media.” The
results of the study showed that, overall, caregivers from the three centers were in agreeance
that MeTS can expand children’s knowledge if utilized appropriately while exposure to violent
MeTS is harmful.

American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP)

Recommendations
The AAP released screen time recommendations that received a lot of attention, both positive
and negative. The recommendations include children younger than 18 months avoiding screen
media use entirely, other than video-chatting, and limiting screen use to one hour per day of
high-quality programs for children ages 2 to 5 years. Other recommendations include placing
consistent limits on time spent using media for children ages 6 and older, designating media-
free times together (such as dinner or driving) as well as media-free locations at home (such as
bedrooms), and having ongoing communication about online citizenship and safety, including
treating others with respect both online and offline.
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Children and Media Tips

Thirteen health and safety tips were suggested by the AAP in hopes to promote children's
learning of healthy concepts of digital use and citizenship by helping families manage the digital
landscape that is always changing. Certain tips touch on the importance of creating a media use
plan, privacy, boundaries, and the value of face-to-face communication.
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Resources
Adams, E. L., Marini, M. E., Stokes, J., Birch, L. L., Paul, I. M., & Savage, J. S. (2018).

INSIGHT responsive parenting intervention reduces infant’s screen time and television

exposure. International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, 15(1). doi:

10.1186/s12966-018-0657-5

American Academy of Pediatrics Announces New Recommendations for Children's Media

Use. (2016, October 21). Retrieved from https://www.aap.org/en-us/about-the-aap/aap-

press-room/Pages/American-Academy-of-Pediatrics-Announces-New-Recommendations-

for-Childrens-Media-Use.aspx.

Barr, R. (2019). Growing up in the digital age: early learning and family media ecology.

Current Directions in Psychological Science, 28(4), 341–346. doi:

10.1177/0963721419838245

Children and Media Tips from the American Academy of Pediatrics. (2018, May 1).

Retrieved from https://www.aap.org/en-us/about-the-aap/aap-press-room/news-features-

and-safety-tips/Pages/Children-and-Media-Tips.aspx.
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Chindamo, S., Buja, A., DeBattisti, E., Terraneo, A., Marini, E., Javier Gomez Perez, L.,

… Galliberti, L. (2019). Sleep and new media usage in toddlers. European Journal of

Pediatrics, 178, 483–490. doi: doi: 10.1007/s00431-019-03318-7

Christakis, D. A., Ramirez, J. S. B., Ferguson, S. M., Ravinder, S., & Ramirez, J.-M. (2018).

How early media exposure may affect cognitive function: A review of results from

observations in humans and experiments in mice. Proceedings of the National Academy of

Sciences, 115(40), 9851–9858. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1711548115

Duch, H., Fisher, E. M., Ensari, I., & Harrington, A. (2013). Screen time use in children under

3 years old: a systematic review of correlates. International Journal of Behavioral

Nutrition and Physical Activity, 10(1), 102. doi: 10.1186/1479-5868-10-102

Episode 34: All screens aren't created equal...the good, the bad, and the ugly when it comes to

screen time and young children. (2019, September 25). Retrieved from

https://prekteachandplay.com/podcast34/.

Hinkley, T., Brown, H., Carson, V., & Teychenne, M. (2018). Cross sectional associations of

screen time and outdoor play with social skills in preschool children. Plos One, 13(4). doi:

10.1371/journal.pone.0193700
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Ktrk. (2019, May 2). 'ScreenTime: Diane Sawyer reporting,' 2-hour ABC news special,

challenges families to rethink technology consumption. Retrieved from

https://abc13.com/technology/abc-special-challenges-families-to-rethink-screen-

time/5282005/.

Perez, S. (2019, April 23). New sesame street-themed PSA encourages kids to reduce mobile

device use. Retrieved from https://techcrunch.com/2019/04/23/new-sesame-street-themed-

psa-encourages-kids-to-reduce-mobile-device-use/.

Radesky, J., & Rosenblum, K. (2016). A relationship-based framework for early childhood

media use. International Journal of Birth & Parent Education, 6(4).

Sharkins, K. A., Newton, A. B., Albaiz, N. E. A., & Ernest, J. M. (2015). Preschool children’s

exposure to media, technology, and screen time: perspectives of caregivers from three

early childcare settings. Early Childhood Education Journal, 44(5), 437–444. doi:

10.1007/s10643-015-0732-3

Strasburger, V. (2015). Should babies be watching and using screens? The answer is

surprisingly complicated. Acta Paediatrica, 104(10), 967–968. doi: 10.1111/apa.13105

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Zero to Eight Census Infographic: Common Sense Media. (2017, October 18). Retrieved

from https://www.commonsensemedia.org/zero-to-eight-census-infographic.