Harmful screen use among children and adolescents has become a public health concern. With support from schools, communities, and governments, together we can shift the cultural norms around screens and help our children be healthier and happier nationwide.
Key Takeaways from the Advisory
A Surgeon General’s Advisory uses the best available science to shed light on major public health challenges and suggest possible solutions.
- Early exposure to screens carries developmental and cognitive risks. Screen use in early life is linked to poorer language outcomes.
- Excessive screen time is linked to poor educational and health outcomes in school aged children.
- In teenagers there are additional mental health and behavioral concerns, particularly related to social media use.
- Emerging concerns in adolescence are evolving with long term impacts that extend beyond childhood.
- A concern at all stages of life, and a particularly important one around children’s screen exposure, is its potential to disrupt healthy sleep, which is fundamental to learning, mood, behavior, physical health, and overall development.
- Screen time interventions show promise.
Promoting Healthy Screen Use among Children
Reducing the negative impacts of harmful screen use requires acting with urgency and empowering caregivers and communities by providing them with evidence based tools and strategies organized around the 5 Ds.
- Discuss: Set expectations for all household members for healthy screen use. Discuss with youth what they are viewing, who they are interacting with, and how it makes them feel. Use parental controls and household rules that align with your goals.
- Do: Model the healthy screen use behaviors you would like to see. Children and adolescents pay attention to the actions of their caregivers and trusted adults. Be conscientious about how much time you spend on screens and what type of content you consume. When using screens, do so together.
- Delay: Delay screen time from the earliest age as long as possible and then establish and normalize age appropriate limits on time and content accessible. Parents and caregivers can also delay access to different devices by age.
- Divert: Provide alternatives so screen use is not the default when children are bored. Redirect attention and provide opportunities for healthy activities, such as physical activity. Prioritize completion of desirable activities first, such as chores, homework, music, or sports before screen use.
- Disconnect: Create regularly scheduled, screen free times in everyone’s day, such as mealtimes where everyone disconnects. Practice screen free time before bedtime for better quality sleep and avoid sleeping next to devices. Avoid multitasking with screens during activities. Detox completely from certain devices, media, or platforms when they have become a problem or when another goal is more important.
