Dear parents,

Do you think teenagers need screen time? Do you think they can be
responsible without it? As a teenager I find having a one hour screen time limit on
my phone unnecessary, because that way I can not have a good social life, it can
also not help me become more independent in the future. So this is why I am
asking permission for two or more hours of screen time per day. In the following I
will explain why being more independent, responsible, and social are all reasons
for you to extend my screen time.

First off, according to the internet it says that the average time from a
teenager (7-17 years old) should be 2 hours screen time per day. According to 10
reasons not to limit screens or gaming • Freya Dawson says:”When it's restricted
your child is more likely to binge, hyper-focus, get anxious or sneak time when
you're not watching.” This proves that children will seek their own ways on how to
limit their screen time if you give them too little. They will never be able to fully
relax and enjoy playing video games, watching movies etc., because they fear that
you will take it away from them. This is why I think too limited screen time will be
bad for kids because they will always be sneaky and use every opportunity to not
let you see them using their electronics.. If you set limits for your child’s screen
time it will strengthen the desire of the child for it.Having unlimited screen time
would be bad for children but actually children will only find their own ways to get
more time and watch when you are not there so that you will not punish them.
Giving them unlimited screen time will make them realize and control their time
they spent on their electronic devices. This will not help them in any way and in
the future they still need time to discover how long they should use their phone
per day and won’t realize in the very beginning. This will be a disadvantage to
them because they need more time to learn and be behind the others that have
already been through this in their teenage years. This will just make the future of
your child more complicated because they still need to go through many phases.

Second, I think that for my age I should have a better social life and have
more time to chat with my friends. Teenagers nowadays have an approximate time
limit of 2-3 hours per day, so when there are nearby friends that do not have
screen time it will sometimes make me feel left out when I can’t use my phone. Also
sometimes when my screen time runs out it makes me feel very disrespectful that
I’m leaving a conversation because of the screen time. This is why I think 1 hour of
screen time per day is too less for a 12 year old teenager. Also I surveyed the MYP
3 grade and according to the answers I got half of the people have screen time
and half don’t, but I also asked them if they think they need it and about 75% said
that they don’t need it and 25% said that they think they need it. This states that
most teenagers also think that screen time is not necessary for them. Which
brings me to my next point, the teenage time is used for children to prepare
themselves for their future and become more manageable.

You might think that having unlimited screen time would be bad for
children but actually it makes them more self aware, I think as a teenager I should
not have screen time because I should learn how to become more responsible on
how I use my spare time and how long I use my phone. This can be a way of time -
management, this way I can prepare myself for my future so that I will not be
making the same mistakes in the future. According to the website
https://www.thissimplebalance.com/unlimited-screen-time/#:~:text=They%20have%
20a freedom%20to%20 decide,make%20good%20 decisions%20for%20 themselves
it says that:”They have freedom to decide how much to watch and when to watch
it, within reason, of course.When they realize that, they will start to self-regulate.”
This is just like when a child had too many sweets, they will know that they had too
much and stop by themself, this way they can learn how to control themselves
and also make good decisions.

I interviewed a student from our class around the same age as me who also
has screen time which is Arina Metochkina. She has a daily average of four hours
screen time per day, but that only changed this year. She said:” Before I had four
hours of screen time, I only had two. Me and my parents always had many
conflicts about it, which made them add an extra two hours to my screen time.
After that me and my parents had a better relationship, but I hardly ever came
out of my room, because I always stayed on my phone.” I also asked her if she got
jealous of her other friends for not having screen time, and she said that she did.
But she also said that she thinks that she needs screen time to control the time
she spends on her phone. Sometimes time passes very quickly when there is no
screen time and she won’t notice how much time has passed.

Another person I interviewed was Anna Victoria Petutschnig, she doesn’t

have any screen time and she said that she thinks she doesn't need anyone to
control her time. She says :” I don’t think my parents should control the time I
spend on my phone, the maximum amount of time I have ever used my phone was
only once for 5 hours. My daily average is 1 or 2 hours, not more.” This proves that
even if I had the freedom of getting unlimited screen time I would still be able to
control my time and my responsible decisions.

Being responsible, having the ability to control the time you spend on your
phone, and having a good social life are all traits that will help me out in the
future. I hope you can understand my claim, and extend my screen time.

Sincerely,
Elisa Sandrieser