In a surprising turn away from current social norms, Andrew Przybylski and his colleagues of the Oxford Internet Institute argue that “moderate” levels of screen time is beneficial to development for kids. Przybylski’s study of over 35,000 American children and caregivers may suggest that children who grow up using digital devices, from video game consoles to smartphones, “have better social and emotional skills than kids who don’t use this technology.” Their results were that “modest positive relations” in children could be linked using screen-based technology for up to two hours per day.
However, many researchers and organizations are not on board with Przybylski’s analysis. In fact, the American Academy of Pediatrics gives specific, limited levels for children’s technology access, with numbers differing greatly from Przybylski’s. Here are the American Academy of Pediatrics’ suggestions:
- Children between 2 and 5 should be limited to “one hour a
day of high-quality programming” - Infants between 18 and 24 months can have screen time so
long as it’s high quality and with a caregiver - Babies shouldn’t be exposed to screens other than video
chat
To be fair, Przybylski’s research is not fully complete; he would like to work to lessen self-selection bias of caregivers reporting their own children’s screen time, as well as put more focus into what screen types are more beneficial than others. So, as interesting as these findings are, the full “truth” behind the helpfulness or hindrance of screen-based technology on children, teenagers, and adults is likely still distant.
https://www.technologyreview.com/s/614619/screen-time-is-good-for-youmaybe/