Screens. Back in the day, if we said that kids were spending too much time in front of the screen, we meant the “boob tube,” the derisive sobriquet for television. Now “screens” can mean the computer, cell phone, or — even after decades of reality TV and other trash — television. This past summer, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services published an advisory from the office of the Surgeon General regarding the harm of too much screen use, especially among our children and teens.
Surgeon General’s advisory
According to the report, “As the Nation’s Doctor, the Surgeon General provides Americans with the best scientific information available on how to improve their health and reduce their risk of illness and injury.” In the past, these advisories prompted us to quit smoking, reduce our calorie intake, and consume alcohol in moderation. The most recent advisory warns us that “early exposure to screens carries developmental and cognitive risks.”
Too much screen time for young children may lead to both educational and health problems. For teens, there are behavioral issues, especially related to the use of social media. The Surgeon General’s data indicate that the harm created during adolescence may have “impacts that extend beyond childhood.” And although studies have concentrated mostly on the young, too much early screen exposure can manifest dysfunctions at every stage of life. The advisory states that screen-time exposure can “disrupt sleep, which is fundamental to learning, mood, behavior, physical health, and overall development.”
Some of these concerns were expressed decades ago with regard to television, but it is the extent of harm that has increased exponentially over the years and as new technology has provided more means of exposure. Whereas for most people television was a stationary source of entertainment, today most of us carry a screen in our pockets. Modern screens are an ever-present source of distraction, and they are taking their toll on all of us.
The five Ds
The Surgeon General’s report contains “Five Ds” for dealing with screen time: Discuss, Do, Delay, Divert, and Disconnect. These are strategies that caregivers can use to help limit the amount of time that children spend glued to a screen.
Discuss: Set household goals and then develop parental controls to enforce them. Decide on reasonable expectations that apply to all household members. Then hold discussions with youths about what they are watching, how they feel about what they are seeing, and what they are learning from the experience.
Do: Become models for the young people in the household. Make the expectations the kind that are “do as I do,” not “do as I say.” Try to spend time viewing screens together.
Delay: Don’t just plant infants and toddlers in front the TV or any other screen while you have more important things to do. The Surgeon General’s report advises, “Delay screen time from the earliest age as long as possible and then establish and normalize age-appropriate limits on time and content….”
Divert: It’s easy for children to turn to a screen when they are bored. Try to provide alternatives, especially physical activity or reading age-appropriate books.
Disconnect: Create “screen-free times” when everyone disconnects from electronic devices. Mealtime is a good example, when the family sits down together to talk about events of the day while consuming the meal.
Physical problems
Gregory Hahn, Chair of Orthopedic Surgery at Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital, is seeing more neck and back pains among children than he has seen in his twenty years as a surgeon. He says, “We are constantly surrounded by technology and even infants are being exposed to digital media.” The nature of the media and how we watch it is changing our posture, and that is having a deleterious effect on our general health.
“When you walk around now, you notice that nobody’s actually looking straight ahead and making eye contact.” Hahn worries that everyone is “looking down at their phone.” Now people are developing the same neck problems that have plagued surgeons who must spend hours “looking down” while in the process of performing operations. He cautions, “… I suspect that technology is likely creating the same problem.”
Additionally, teens have a habit of “sitting on the bed or floor working on tablets or laptops for hours at a time.” He says that this results in a “hunched posture with no support for the back” and it may result the neck being flexed in an unnatural position. He believes that such habits are hard to break and may result in permanent damage.
Psychological problems
Jennifer Katzenstein, Ph.D. is director of psychology and neuropsychology at Johns Hopkins. She says that excessive screen time “can definitely take a toll on children’s mental health…” She cites staggering statistics, like “babies as young as four months old are being exposed to digital media,” “75 percent of teens have smartphones,” and “Teens send a median of 100 texts a day.” She says that many teens experience withdrawal symptoms when they are prevented from using their social media.
She urges parents to set time limits on the use of digital media. Put screens away during homework, meal time, and at least one hour before bedtime. And find a “happy medium” for the use of screens. She’s found that “too much screen time and too little screen time leads to higher levels of depression.” She also says that parents should know every app to which their children have access, exactly how it works, and whom they follow.
Finally, she believes that young people should only follow people whom they know. She warns, “When we follow people we don’t know, we start to think people look like this or live like this and we feel inferior in some way.” The reality of the lives of celebrities, movie stars, musicians, and so forth are “engineered” for public consumption and are not typical of real life. “For parents,” Katzenstein says, “it’s all about a higher level of monitoring.”
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Jim Glynn es Profesor Emérito de Sociología. Se le puede contactar en j_glynn@att.net.