A new study finds that the biggest factor affecting children’s screen time is how often their parents use their devices.
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This is me. Hello. I am the problem. This is me.
As a parent of teens and tweens, I couldn’t help but think of Taylor Swift’s lyrics as I read the results of a new study looking at the link between parenting strategies and screen use among teens.
The study looked at data from more than 10,000 12- and 13-year-olds and their parents, who were asked about their screen usage habits, including texting, social media, video chatting, watching videos and browsing the web. The researchers also asked if there were any problems with their screen use, for example, if the children wanted to stop using screens but felt they couldn’t, or if their screen habits interfered with school work or daily life.
An important finding occurred to me: One of the biggest predictors of the time kids spend on screens is And whether there is any problem with this use—— is how often parents use screens when around their children.
“It’s important to model screen behavior for children,” said Jason Nagata, a pediatrician at the University of California, San Francisco, and lead author of the study, published in the journal Pediatric Research. “even If teens say they are not influenced by their parents, the data does suggest that parents are actually more influential than they think.
Jenny Radesky, a developmental behavioral pediatrician and media researcher at the University of Michigan, says it’s common for parents like me to feel guilty about our screen use.
But instead of beating themselves up about it, she says it’s important for parents to realize that, like children, we’re easily attracted to technology designed to keep us scrolling.
“We are called to care for an increasingly complex digital ecosystem that is actively challenging the limits we set” — for ourselves and our children, she said.
But even though parents are fighting larger forces aimed at keeping us glued to our screens, that doesn’t mean we’re completely helpless. Nagata’s research looks at the parenting strategies that are most effective at curbing screen use in early teens, he notes, because this is a time when children are seeking more independence, and “because we tend to see kids become addicted to electronic devices once they’re exposed to them. Will spend more time in the media.” their teenage years. “
So, what works?
Some of the study’s findings seem pretty obvious: Keeping mealtimes and bedtimes screen-free is a strategy strongly associated with kids spending less time on screens and exhibiting fewer screen use problems. Nagata’s previous research found that keeping screens away from the bedroom is a good strategy, as having devices in the bedroom is linked to difficulties falling and staying asleep among teens.
As for the finding that parental screen use does matter, Radesky said it’s consistent with what she hears often from teens in her work as co-medical director of the American Academy of Pediatrics’ Center of Excellence for Social Media and Adolescent Mental Health Echoes.
“We hear a lot from teenagers that when their parents are on their phones, they’re really stuck on their social media accounts — they just don’t seem to be able to use them,” Radesky said. “They don’t seem to be able to use them. Not ready.
Given technology’s addictive design, Radesky said parents shouldn’t be blamed for this message. The message should be to discuss with your child why you find screens so engaging. Ask yourself: “Why am I spending so much time on this app? Is it time that I find truly meaningful and adds color to my day? Or is it time that I would like to replace with something else?”
She said she favors this collaborative approach to setting boundaries for screen use in teens and tweens, rather than using screens as a reward or punishment to control behavior. In fact, this new study suggests that, at least for this age group, using screens as a reward or punishment may actually be counterproductive—and that’s tied to the fact that kids are spending more time on their devices.
Instead, Radesky says, it’s better to establish consistent family guidelines around screen use so kids know when they can and can’t use them without obsessing over “earning” screen time.
For teens, setting these rules together can be a great way to get kids to accept boundaries and help them and their parents break bad screen habits.
This story was edited by Jane Greenhalgh.
