Setting Boundaries Around Screen Time
“While much of the technology we are senselessly addicted to promises greater connectedness, people are more isolated, disconnected and lonely than ever before in history.”
If you feel like excessive screen time is causing strain in your home, you are not alone. According to a National Institute of Health (NIH) study that began in 2018, excessive screen time has been linked to issues related to children’s social and emotional development, and many parents are concerned. The American Psychological Association recommends less than two hours per day of screen time for children. However, many children regularly far surpass that recommendation.
Rather than being present in the moment and looking inward for validation, many children are finding worth through the number of likes, streaks, and comments they receive online. Social media is training our children to compare their lives rather than experience their own. Due to this constant comparison, social media usage is being linked to increased feelings of depression and anxiety among children and adolescents according to a 2017 study.
In addition to excessive social media use, unrestricted online gaming may be negatively impacting children’s psychological development, as well. When playing many games, quick responses are required in order to do well. When this fight, flight, or freeze response is activated consistently during gaming, children are programming their brains to react quickly to situations. It would be wonderful if children’s brains were be able to separate their reactionary responses needed during online gaming from real world experiences, but human brains struggle to differentiate gaming from reality. When children take part in excessive online gaming, they are training their brains to use the lower level functioning part of their brains, a part of their brain that all animals have, rather than the higher functioning part of brain that is unique to humans. As a result, rather than stopping and thinking before acting, they are training their brains to react with survival instincts.
I want to note that I am not suggesting completely removing gaming and social media from your children’s lives. Online gaming can be exciting, and social media can help strengthen bonds and relationships. However, it is important to encourage your children to put the screens down and be present. Help them experience the life they have been gifted, and encourage them to actively take part in it.
Limiting your children’s screen time may feel uncomfortable and be met with quite a bit of resistance. However, the level of resistance simply shows the amount of dependence felt towards screen time. There are several tools out there to help with the process of limiting the amount of time screen time. Apps, such as Moment and AppDetox, and tools, such as Circle by Disney, can help with accountability. If excessive screen time is causing strain in your home, take action and set boundaries around screen time. Your children will likely feel emotionally healthier and happier as a result.