To put it mildly that this topic of technologies on our behavior, especially young children is a hot topic among parents and educators alike would be an understatement. As with anything of this nature, the public conversations about screen time have gradually become more heated and divisive.

Finding good evidence is more than just a quick search on the web. Make no mistake that Media is a powerful platform not only to influence our thoughts, but also share data not in its entirety. Is the information you are using from an unverified website, or from a published scientific paper? If it’s a research paper, who conducted the study? Do they have any conflicts of interest? Was the study run properly, and can the data and materials be found on the internet? These are the sorts of questions we should be using to interrogate any piece of evidence provided to us, regardless of the source.

One major issue making the current debate both unclear and misguided is the flawed way we think about technology use. Are we asking the right question by asking Is screen time ruining our kids? Technology use is incredibly diverse, and while pretending it is a single concept may be convenient, it makes meaningful understandings or interventions impossible. Ten minutes of talking to a grandparent over Skype will not have the same effect as watching ten minutes of YouTube videos or spending 10 minutes catching up on celebrity gossip.

Not to mention there is not a whole lot of research conducted in this area. On the other hand, just because the evidence isn’t there yet doesn’t mean that robust and objective studies won’t be published in the future. But being trapped in this situation, we believe that pointing out the current lack of evidence loudly and clearly is vital; basing policy on low quality or biased evidence would be a fiasco for both policy and science.

Like most people when I hear about this topic, my knee -jerk reaction is that technology is making our kids isolated, perhaps in some instances not so smart, however what I am doing is in Psychology called thin-slicing i.e observing small sections of the information and then drawing conclusions. The problem with this approach is that I am missing out critical and analytical approach to this complex subject.

Passive screen time has its problems, but this doesn’t mean that kids and teens can’t use screens in a healthy, beneficial way. After studying children ages 4 to 11 on their use of screen time, a University of Michigan study found that “how children use the devices, not how much time they spend on them, is the strongest predictor of emotional or social problems connected with screen addiction.” As long as we ensure that our kids are actively using their screens, we can most likely avoid the problems that come with passive screen use.

I believe technology effects can substantially move on until these issues are taken seriously. If we do not have evidence, and communicate this evidence honestly and efficiently, well-meaning people will fund, publicize, and support misguided campaigns that have no chance of accomplishing their stated goals. We are seeing this in our politics how this disinformation is playing out and its not serving us well. But we absolutely have to find a way if we want to break out of the seemingly endless cycle of moral panics around the latest social craze.

References

Etchells, P., et al. (January 6, 2017). Screen Time Guidelines should be built on evidence, not hype. The Guardian.

Domoff, E. S. (December 1, 2017). Kids and Screen time. Retrieved from https://news.umich.edu/kids-and-screen-time-signs-your-child-might-be-addicted/

Domoff, E., S et al. (February, 2018). A Naturalistic Study of Child and Family Screen Media and Mobile Device Use. Journal of Child and Family Studies .Retrieved from https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10826-018-1275-1