Q1 What is screen time?
Screen time is
the total time spent per day in viewing screens such as mobile phone, TV,
computer, tablet, or any hand-held or visual device. Screen time
spent for educational or prosocial activities such as schoolwork, interacting
with friends and relatives, and creating art or music or relaxation is termed
positive or healthy, while watching inappropriate TV shows, visiting unsafe
websites, or playing violent video games are few examples of negative or
unhealthy screen time.
Q2 How much screen time is ok?
- Children below
the age of 2 years-no screen time except occasional video call with relatives.
- 2 and 5 years
should not exceed 1 hour; the lesser, the better.
- For older
children and adolescents, if screen time affects physical activity (play time),
sleep, time for schoolwork, meals, hobbies, and family time it is called
excessive screen time and it should be reduced.
Q3 What are the
adverse effects of screen time
Excess screen
time can cause following:
- Physical health:
Obesity, sedentary lifestyle, disturbed sleep, headache, eye strain, neck,
back, and wrist pains
- Mental health: Delayed speech, hyperactivity,
aggression, violence, desire for instant gratification, poor concentration,
FOMO (fear of missing out), FOBLO (fear of being left out), cyberbullying,
media addiction,
distorted, drug use, self-harm, anxiety, and depression.
- Social: Reduced socialization and social
anxiety
- Scholastic: Decreased academic performance
Q4 What age to introduce screen time?
At 2 years, you
could introduce digital devices such as computer and television but you should
view the screens along with the children and prefer educative interactive
programs for a short duration of time.
Q5 What is the
permissible age for use of various platforms?
|
Facebook,
Twitter, Snapchat, Instagram,
and Google
Plus
|
13 years
|
|
WhatsApp
|
16 years
|
|
YouTube
|
18 years
13–18 years,
require parental permission
|
|
PUBG
|
18 years
For 13–18
years, restricted play time
Less than 13
years and need parental permission
|
|
Clash of Clans
|
13 years
|
Q6 How can I
motivate my child to use media in a healthy way?
To have “Digital
rules”- Children feel secure when boundaries and rules are laid down for behaviour.
Digital Hygiene:
A few rules are:
- Ensure a warm,
nurturing and secure environment at home. Children follow rules, if they are
guided in a respectful and empathetic manner. Do not use a screen for calming
or distracting a child.
- Balance screen time with adequate time for
sleep, physical activity, study, family, meals, and hobby time. Not
to use screen 1 hour before bedtime, as blue light emitted from devices
disturbs sleep.
- To reduce
eyestrain and dryness of eyes, it is important to follow 20-20-20 rule that is
every 20 minutes take a break for 20 seconds to look at an object 20 feet away.
- Avoid multitasking. While doing offline
homework, all digital devices should be switched off.
- Keep children safe by co-viewing and
monitoring the online content and interactions. Avoid programs and
games with violent content. Also, ensure proper privacy settings on the computer, safe
search engines on browsers and apps, and anti-virus software. For young children,
install protective software to restrict access to inappropriate websites.
- Encourage the use of media for educational
purposes and promote physical activity and offline creative
games for recreation. Use “teachable moments” on the media to convey family values,
healthy lifestyle, and interpret media messages.
- Mark digital
free zones such as bedroom, dining table, kitchen, bathroom, and motorized vehicles where
no family member uses a gadget. Decide upon a digital fasting time when no
family member uses any device and utilizes that time for family
bonding.
- You should role model healthy media use and
formulate a family media usage plan.
.png)
