Smart phones, computers and tablets, Oh My! (part 1)
By Kerri Kreh Reda, M.P.H.
Things sure are different now than when I was growing up “back in the olden days” as my son would say. My parents only had to worry about how much television I was watching. But even so, the concern wasn’t too great as children’s shows were only on until 8pm and cartoons were only available on Saturday mornings until noon; most of the time I was outdoors playing with friends.
Things are different now with media and technology available twenty –four hours a day, seven days a week everywhere you go. There is concern about how much time children are spending with screens (television, movies, video games, computers, tablets, smart phones – pretty much any device with a screen-collectively called “screen time”). Numerous studies point to health, behavior and learning issues as a result of too much time spent with screens. The real problem is that for many children their screen time is not balanced with other, more beneficial, activities such as playing, interacting with others, reading, school work and being physically active. On average, children are spending 7 hours per day using screens.
The recommendation from the American Academy of Pediatrics is that children 2 years of age and older spend no more than 2 hours a day with screens of high quality content and for those under age 2, no time with screens at all. It is also recommended that families have screen free areas such as children’s bedrooms and screen free times of day such as dinnertime.
This is the first part of an ongoing series entitled “Smart phones, computers and tablets, Oh My!”
Additional resource:
Media and Children
http://www.aap.org/en-us/advocacy-and-policy/aap-health-initiatives/Pages/Media-and-Children.aspx
Kerri Kreh Reda, M.P.H., is a Human Development Specialist with Cornell Cooperative Extension of Suffolk County’s Family Health and Wellness Program. She can be reached at 631-727-7850 ext. 330 or at kkr5@cornell.edu.