Why Is Screen Time Bad For Children

Imagine spending your whole summer without going outside and enjoying the warmth of the sun. Imagine wasting all of your summer on your phone without your friends. Instead, you are on your computer playing the latest games, and have been addicted the past few days. Too much screen time can have negative consequences such as physical problems and difficulties in school; however, some state parks are trying to alleviate these problems by having kids develop a love for nature.

Children are replacing physical activity with video games, YouTube, Netflix, text messaging, and social media accounts. Instead of going outside on a nice, sunny day, they would much rather stay indoors and play on their IPod, IPhone, tablets, or computers. In Jim Taylor’s article, there were studies done on children and screen time. While most researchers thought that children did not spend that much time on their devices due to busy schedules, they were shocked to find out that children are just multitasking. They are texting, playing video games, and watching videos or movies in between their free times, or even while doing their homework. Children are becoming less active and more dependent on their devices.

Before, people used to leave their homes to communicate with friends through places such as the bar, café, or even going for a walk. Now, technology has made communication so much easier. With applications such as Skype, Facebook and iMessage, we are able to instantly message our friends without spending money, time or energy to commute. Overall, messaging applications have made communication easier, quicker, cheaper and more efficient – all four are demands of which most humans look for when performing tasks. However, there are times when technology usage is more than we should take. Television for example can easily prevent a family from communicating. With 24 hours of nonstop broadcasting news and entertainment, some families can sit through these programs for hours without saying a single word to each other. According to a survey conducted by the Mirror, the average parent spends only 34 minutes with their children a day (Maughan, 2015). Over 2,000 parents surveyed had admitted to being too tired or busy to spend time with their children. With 24 hours in a day, if the average human spends 8 hours a day sleeping (Bjarki, 2015), 7-12 hours a day working or going to school (Ferro, 2015), and 8.4 hours on media devices (Chang, 2015), communication among friends, family members and the outside world in general is expected to be at its concerning lowest. According to research by the telegraph, 65.8% of children under 10 years old own smartphones

Kids should not have their own devices because it can lead to health problems, and for the kids it is a big distraction. “Studies show that screen time is tied to health problems. Using computers or phones can lead to being overweight. It also can make it harder for kids to pay attention for long periods of time.”

Now, it’s easy to point to kids and teenagers and say, “you kids and those smartphones!” However, if you go back you’ll notice that I didn’t specify an age group. While kids and teens ages 8 to 18 spend 6-9 hours a day in front of some kind of screen, “… just over an hour of that time (1:11) is spent on social media,” Jordan Shapiro of Forbes said. What’s interesting is that 18 to 34 year olds spend 3.8 hours per

eople would argue against limiting screen time for younger children. However some arguments can be made for letting children watch television when they are very young. A poor mouse lost its youth for the effects of overstimulation to be proven, and such a valiant sacrifice should not go in vain. Along with the sacrifice of the mice that served under Dr. Christakis, our future citizens are having their perceptions of reality augmented even before they go to preschool or kindergarten. Combined with the attention deficit, these preconceived notions of different places can lead a school to have some serious issues. The core issue with this is that it is very difficult to moderate a child 's viewing of the television, playing of video games, or accessing of the Internet, especially because younger people have more fluid of electronic devices. The benefits of caring for a child during its infancy, instead of sticking it in front of a screen, outweigh whatever free time would be obtained by letting the child experience over stimulation.

Teens’ screen time should be limited, not by a strict rule enforced by their parents, but by being taught guidelines as to how long and when are the appropriate times to use the devices. In his article, Don’t Limit Your Teen’s Screen Time, Chris Bergman argues that if technology is unrestricted, social events and time without supervision aren’t “an opportunity for… kids to binge on tech because they couldn't otherwise” (1). What Bergman is saying is the more you can not have something, the more you will want it, so by not enforcing strict rules about technology, parents allow their children to take social opportunities as a time to interact with others, rather than a time to sneak in more screen time. Although keeping a lenient rule over one’s

Screen time is very unhealth for children who dont get out and play. playing outside is very health for kids, while helping develop emotional health, imagination, and problem sloving skills. All while be activie, and playing with friends.

Access to technology allows kids to communicate with friends and family. As long as it doesn't replace face-to-face interaction, this is very useful for kids. This is a benefit because it allows kids and teens to speak with people far away. In addition, playing online games can help a kid's self-esteem. For example, the article "Media Benefits for Children and Teenagers" explained "For example, joining online clubs can help children practise using social media safely, or playing computer games with friends and family can help them practise turn-taking and cooperation." This emphasizes that screen time can help children bond with their family and friends. Although screen time can be bad if it is used too much, it is the responsibility of the parent or guardian to set limits on screen time based on their child's needs. That is another reason why screen time is benefical for

Screen time for childeren is one of the best ways for a child to learn in my opinion. Kids learning through phones or tablets at an early age is an easier way to do some quick learning kids while infants seem to learn more better when hearing and seeing things physically.

With new technology and advances in education it is no wonder the use of computers, iPads, and other devices are trickling into the daily life of our younger generations. Perhaps these advances could be doing more harm than providing the enriching education parents and schools think they are. There are now elementary schools where every child has their own iPad and middle schools with Chrome Books the students can take home. Even paper textbooks are being replaced with electronic versions. The use of technology moving forward with education needs to be balanced with critical factors involving a child’s development. Children must be separated from constant attachment to screens to properly learn and develop necessary social skills to become adults who are able to interact and communicate.

Not only teenagers and middle-aged adults, but even young children are addicted to staring down at a blue screen. How many times during the past year have you walked by a playground and heard the contagious laughter of young children playing? I bet that this number is very small. When I was nine years old, I remember what my favorite thing to do after school was. It was to play. Similar to every other child at the time, running around an open field or zipping down a slide was all I wanted. But today, the hushed silence I experience as I walk past the devoid park gives me chills as I watch the swings and slides wait to give joy to laughing children that used to frolic here everyday, but now remain quiet in their secluded houses. Not because it’s cold outside, but because nine-year-olds today are copying our technological obsession. Did you know that on average, children get their first cellphones at age eight? Our generation is becoming the most antisocial generation yet. Although many people disagree and believe that using technology, especially cell phones, make them more social, I don’t understand how sitting at home on a Friday night, texting or blogging, is more social than hanging out with your friends and enjoying the company of others. Although numerous people disagree with me, stating that technology is making people more social, I remain committed to my belief. For people who

I agree with children and their screen time becasue every year the electronics devices improves and helps children in ways even parents couldn't.

One pro that was found in the article “A Reconsideration of Children and Screen Time”, is that not all screen time is bad. Skyping with a far away relative such as a grandma or deployed parent is considered to be good screen time, even for very young children, said the article. As well as giving young kids a chance to interact with family, technology has also brought advances in medicine and entertainment. The television and other forms of entertainment are now a commodity in every household compared to the 1900’s. People use technology to help them connect with their families, whether it be through Skype or TV. Though these are considered “pros”, they also lead back to the earlier mentioned “cons” of technology; taking all of our time and taking our children with addiction. In reality, technology may have pros, but the cons are finally starting to outweigh

In the text “A New Generation”, Larry Rosen mentions that multitasking social media for socialization, communication, and connection leads to behavioral and psychological problems (Rosen 2). She also believes that electronic devices can disturb the balance between screen time and real time due to the interruption of phone calls, television, and text messaging during meals (Rosen 4). In addition, “the obsessive use and constant stimulation, especially for pre-teen children, can lead