\n
Children\u2019s health and wellbeing concerning screen-time: <\/strong><\/span>Is there an app for forest-bathing?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n The open letter by Etchells and his colleagues (2017) that we were asked to review is all about screen time and its effect on childhood health and wellbeing. More specifically, the letter speaks to the lack of evidence to support a connection between childhood health and wellbeing and screen time. Etchells and his colleagues state a position contrary to a previous letter signed by a group of writers, psychologists, and charity heads that raised significant concerns about childhood health and wellbeing in connection to screen time<\/em>. Etchells\u2019 letter demands more research and evidence to look into the effects of screen time on children. The letter that sparked Etchell and his colleagues\u2019 open-letter-reaction is a letter by Palmer et al. (2016) that suggested children’s health and wellbeing in the UK is on the decline, “in part due to \u2018increasingly screen-based lifestyles'” (in Etchells et al., 2017). Palmer et al. ‘s letter called for government policies \u201cto increase outdoor playtime that focus on screen time” (Etchells et al., 2017).<\/p>\n Etchells et al. (2017) are putting forth these arguments because they feel a need to contribute to a debate on the effects of screen-time, to counter the \u201cfear-mongering\u201d of growing claims that screen-time is affecting children\u2019s wellbeing, health, and brain development. Etchells et al. highlight the importance of context<\/em> <\/strong>and content<\/em> <\/strong>that makes up a child\u2019s use and exposure to screen-time. The initial letter by Palmer et al. (2016), is overly simplistic in its claims, not taking into account important factors such as socioeconomic status, public funding for school boards to provide access to technology and \u2018screens\u2019 in school, relational poverty, and family environment (Etchells et al., 2017).<\/p>\n Parents need to be actively concerned about what kind of screen time their children engage with; however, there are so many different ways for children to interact with the content or context of screen time. For example, a math game, highlighting a curricular outcome, reinforcing concepts taught in class, can be beneficial to a child. Whereas many video games or simple cartoons do not engage students with critical thinking or problem-solving skills that they can transfer to real-world situations.<\/p>\n The arguments on either side of the debate are not in conflict with my beliefs. I concur with some of the arguments on both sides of this debate. The concept that I am in conflict with is the notion of divisive, scaremongering tactics and <\/em>suggesting government policies be created without appropriate research to corroborate theories. Etchells et al. (2017) are arguing against the scare-mongering language and statements in Palmer et al. ‘s letter (2016) that are not grounded in evidence-based research. The inflammatory letter by Palmer et al. (2016), and the responding letter by Etchells et al. (2017), do not lead me to re-evaluate my position because they both highlight the need for research and evidence-based decision making. Most aligned to my position, and pertinent to Etchell and his colleagues\u2019 stance, is that \u201cthe concept of \u2018screen time\u2019 itself is simplistic and arguably meaningless, and the focus on the amount of screen use is unhelpful. There is little evidence looking at the impact of the context<\/em> of screen use, and the content <\/em>that children encounter when using digital technologies \u2013 factors that may have a much greater impact than sheer quantity alone\u201d (Etchells et al., 2017).<\/p>\n The content and context of screen time will be a hot topic for some time to come. The province of Ontario, under the Conservative government of Doug Ford, is implementing a cell phone ban in schools as of November 21, 2019 (Li, 2019). Numerous sources point to cell phones as the primary source of screen time amongst teenagers (Li, 2019; Smith, 2018). In 2014, a CIBC poll \u201crevealed that Canadians check their cell phones every 10 minutes on average. Unsurprisingly, young adults between 18 to 24 checked almost twice as frequently, glancing at the screen 10.1 times per hour on average\u201d (Li, 2019).<\/p>\n Nonetheless, as much research states, the context and content of screen time are what is ultimately essential for addressing screen time\u2019s merits and risks. In addition to the \u2018dangers\u2019 of screen-time for children, both letters also discuss efforts to get children and adolescents to spend time outdoors — an enormous, unrelated challenge, that also needs to be addressed. In fact,\u00a0 recent articles point to “forest-bathing” as a new trend<\/em><\/strong> \u2013 when \u201cforest-bathing\u201d is just something many people have forgotten about (Li, 2018; Sherwood, 2019): just going for a walk in a forest\u2026 there must be an app for that on a nearby screen.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n References<\/p>\n Etchells, P., et al. (2017, January 6).\u00a0Screen time guidelines should be built on evidence, not hype<\/a>.\u00a0The Guardian<\/em>. Retrieved from\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/science\/head-quarters\/2017\/jan\/06\/screen-time-guidelines-need-to-be-built-on-evidence-not-hype<\/a><\/p>\n Li, T. (2019, August 30). Ontario to ban classroom cellphone use starting November. IT World Canada<\/em>. Retrieved from https:\/\/www.itworldcanada.com\/article\/ontario-to-ban-classroom-cellphone-use-starting-novemeber\/421426<\/a><\/p>\n Li, Q. (2018, May 1). \u2018Forest Bathing\u2019 is great for your health. Here\u2019s how to do it. Time<\/em>. Retrieved from https:\/\/time.com\/5259602\/japanese-forest-bathing\/<\/a><\/p>\n Ontario restricting cellphone use in classrooms starting in November (2019, August 29). CBC<\/em>. Retrieved from https:\/\/www.cbc.ca\/news\/canada\/toronto\/ontario-cellphone-ban-1.5264331<\/a><\/p>\n Palmer, S., et al. (2016, December 25). Screen-based lifestyle harms children\u2019s health. The Guardian<\/em>. Retrieved from https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/education\/2016\/dec\/25\/screen-based-lifestyle-harms-health-of-children<\/a><\/p>\n Sherwood, H. (2019, June 8). Getting back to nature: how forest bathing can make us feel better. The Guardian<\/em>. Retrieved from\u00a0 https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/environment\/2019\/jun\/08\/forest-bathing-japanese-practice-in-west-wellbeing<\/a><\/p>\n Smith, M. (June 14, 2018). Government survey confirms that, yes, Canadian teens really do like their smart phones. National Post. <\/em>Retrieved from https:\/\/nationalpost.com\/news\/politics\/government-survey-confirms-that-yes-canadian-teens-really-like-their-smartphones<\/a><\/p>\n Attribution<\/p>\n Photo by\u00a0Casey Horner<\/a>\u00a0on\u00a0Unsplash<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Children\u2019s health and wellbeing concerning screen-time: Is there an app for forest-bathing? The open letter by Etchells and his colleagues (2017) that we were asked to review is all about screen time and its effect on childhood health and wellbeing…. 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