Alisha Powell

English 1101.575

Kimberly Rickard

December 4, 2020

Screen Time

You are in a restaurant seated next to a big family; all you see are blue lights from your

peripheral vision and realize that they are all on their phones. No one is paying attention to the

other. There are no conversations. Just quiet giggles as they scroll past the latest Tik Tok.

Everywhere you look today you will see a phone, tablet, or computer close by. It is sad how

much people today rely on technology. Electronics have amazing benefits for children, but just

like anything with good comes the bad. Technology can have dangers when in the hands of

adolescence. Too much screen time can interfere with physical activity, social interaction, as

well as sleep if not limited.

Steve Jobs, an American entrepreneur and co-founder of Apple Inc. was a low-tech

parent. He and his wife strictly limited their children’s screen time. Banning all gadgets on

school nights and allowing little screen time to be spent on the weekends. (Bilton, Nick The New

York Times 09.10) Being someone that knows a lot about technology, Jobs wanted to keep his

children away from harmful content. Things such as pornography, bullying, and perhaps worst of

all, becoming like the generation before them; addicted to their devices. Children with social

media and technology should be closely monitored to prevent them from being exposed to the

dangers of the internet. We set rules in place to limit screen time, such as no phones in the
bedroom or giving set time limits for usage of all devices throughout the day. We must be

devoted to sticking to the rules we put in place.

Technology can have great benefits but can affect sleep if not limited. “According to the

American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, screen time can easily end up bleeding

into bedtime.” (Lee, Katherine Very Well Family 09. 15) The new study has found that the bright

light of an electronic screen may change the body's biological clock and suppress the natural

production of melatonin that's critical to the normal sleep -wake cycle. Melatonin is a hormone

in the body that helps regulate a person's sleep. A child gets comfortable behind a screen, no

human interaction is easier for us as humans to isolate ourselves in our own little world. So, it is

easy to get lazy in the aspect of social interaction. When they do however then they get

uncomfortable in real situations which have been associated with attention problems. Kids also

are getting used to sitting inside on a game or tv instead of playing outside. Instead of video

games or watching television break out a board game, go play a game of toss in the yard, or even

just go for a walk. Do something that does not involve technology at all, distract them so they

can be kids for a minute, not technology zombies. A rise in technology use has decreased

physical activity which can lead to obesity. Electric stimulation has been shown to interfere with

falling and staying asleep.

There was a study done between two surveys, associating the younger generation with a

rise of suicide deaths since 1999. “Between the year 2010 and 2015 depression rates rose 33

percent, the number of suicides increased by 31 percent. In Females specifically, ones who spend

more time online then their peers were most likely to report depressive or suicidal symptoms.”

(Lyons, Christina L. Volume 29, Issue 25) Many believe that teens are spending too much of

their lives on social media; it is creating mental health problems. Children are getting attached to
their phones and spending less time with their peers. With girls the social media world can cause

low self-esteem, they are scrolling through Instagram and comparing themselves negatively with

unrealistic body expectations or photo shopped images. Social media and technology can also be

very distracting and can get in the way of homework, therefore deteriorating grades. Parents

should monitor and limit access to social media and screen time. It could help these dangers from

occurring.

A teacher turning her students' schoolwork into games to help them better understand

their work. It keeps the student's attention and instead of being bored and forgetting everything at

the door, they are taking it home with them and tackling it there as well. Video games offer

learning opportunities for children to keep them interested and entertained. “Gamification is on

the rise.” (Alicia Ault, Volume 26, Issue 7) It is like a game for them, but they are still learning.

This is a benefit of technology like allowing creativity and freedom of expression. It also is a

resource for learning and technology it also improves perseverance. ID tech wants to help you

balance your screen time, they offer classes and services to help you manage your screen time

and turn it into a skill instead of a problem.

Technology like everything has dangers but do you avoid it or manage it? Too much

screen time can interfere with physical activity, social interaction, as well as sleep if not limited.

You can prevent phones from being in bedrooms, you can put a time limit on the technology

access your child has, or even establishing no phones at the dinner table. There are many more

negative affects electronic stimulation can bring on the impressionable mind of a child. When

spending family time together think of things to do that have nothing to do with technology, go

toss ball, there are so many things a kid can do outside. It's our place as adults to protect them
and help them in any way we can. We can limit and monitor our children's technology access

and stick to it. What do you want our next generation to look like?

Ault, Alicia. “Video Games and Learning”

CQ researcher 02.12 (2016) - Volume 26, Issue 7. Search Complete Web. 30 Oct 2020.

https://library-cqpress-

com.sinclair.ohionet.org/cqresearcher/document.php?id=cqresrre2016021200&type=hitli

st&num=43

Bilton, Nick. “Steve Jobs Was a Low-Tech Parent”

The New York Times 09.10 (2014) Search Complete Web. Oct. 30.2020

https://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/11/fashion/steve-jobs-apple-was-a-low-tech-

parent.html

Lee, Katherine. “The Concerns About Kids and Screen Time”

Very Well Family 09. 15 (2019) - Search Completed Web. 30. 2020

https://www.verywellfamily.com/kids-and-technology-when-to-limit-it-and-how-621145

Lyons, Christina L. “Suicide Crisis”

CQ research 07.12 (2019) - Volume 29, Issue 25. Search Complete Web. 30

Oct.2020. https://library-cqpress-

com.sinclair.ohionet.org/cqresearcher/document.php?id=cqresrre2019071200&ty

pe=hitlist&num=0
Ryan. “Positive Effects & benefits of Technology & The Right Kind of Screen Time for

Children.”

ID Tech 05. 10 (2018) - Search Complete Web. 30. 2020. https://library-cqpress-

com.sinclair.ohionet.org/cqresearcher/document.php?id=cqresrre2018042000&type=hitli

st&num=16