by Al Gourrier Jr., Neuroscience & Psychology Major, Class of 2019
My blog post is a position paper about adolescent screen time exposure. I chose this topic because there are many negative affects of excessive screen time exposure on children that the general public may not be aware of.
My position paper is on screen time exposure
during childhood and adolescence. I will discuss screen time exposure from a
parenting perspective. More specifically, I will discuss why I will raise my
future children in a household where screen time exposure is limited,
especially before and during bed time hours.
Screen time and digital media is addictive,
especially for children and adolescents who find themselves spending hours and
hours in front of a screen. Excessive screen time not only takes away from the
opportunity to engage in activities essential for proper development and
exercise, but it also has adverse consequences that include: physical,
psychological, social and neurological (Lissak,
2018). There are many known factors that contribute to these adverse
effects (e.g. duration of screen time); however, Lissak (2018) talked about two
factors (i.e. number of devices and after-dark use) that I had not thought of
prior. I will talk about these factors among many others in the remainder of
this paper. I will primarily focus on why I plan to limit excessive screen time
exposure for my future children and provide empirical evidence to support my
personal parenting perspective.
The accessibility of digital media and devices
in general plays a significant role in screen time exposure in children and
adolescents. Parents and guardians have the means to afford multiple
televisions, phones, tablets, etcetera that result in ample devices available
for excess leisure screen time. My future family, specifically my future
children, will have limited access to a plethora of devices, especially
after-dark use. In other words, my children will have the resources and means
to acquire the devices and leisure screen time that comes with it. However,
they will be expected to limit their time in front of a screen and partake in other
activities, such as playing or reading. Exercise, socializing, and mental
activities in the form of games promote good physical health, attachment and
social coping.
Lissak (2018) states that these components of
well-being (e.g. good physical health) are crucial for psychophysiological
resilience, and excessive screen usage in children and adolescents is a primary
factor that disrupts its development. For instance, excessive screen usage is
associated with poor sleep, cardiovascular disease risk factors, and impaired
vision (Lissak, 2018). Twenge and Campbell (2019) even tackled the daunting
question that every Generation X and Baby Boomer has wondered (or at least
hypothesized and reported as if it were factual): is time spent on digital
media associated with lower psychological well-being?
Various studies’ offer different conclusions;
however, Twenge
and Campbell (2019) utilized three large surveys of adolescents [UK 15 year
olds (n = 120,115) and American 8th
to 12th graders (n =
100,981)] to gain a rather extensive sample (n = 221,096) to compare light daily digital usage (i.e. less than
one hour) to heavy daily digital usage (i.e. five or more hours).
Twenge and Campbell (2019) found
that adolescents’ who reported heavy daily digital usage were significantly
more likely to be unhappy and report low well-being, depression and suicidal
ideation/attempts. Light daily digital usage, on the other hand, was found to
have the highest well-being reports.
Given that we know that psychological
well-being is crucial for healthy adolescent development and excessive screen
time negatively influences well-being, I will limit my future children’s screen
exposure. In addition to negatively influencing psychological well-being, excessive
screen time exposure also has adverse consequences in brain structural changes
and psycho-neurological effects. For instance, ADHD-related behaviors are
associated with excessive screen usage, and addictive screen time usage
consists of craving behavior that resembles substance dependence behavior
(Lissak, 2018).
Moreover, Dunckley
(2014) observed that her adolescent patients often suffered from
“electronic screen syndrome,” which is characterized by a hyper aroused nervous
system, lack of sleep, and sensory overload. Adolescent mood instability,
attentional span, and inhibitory control are thus negatively influenced (i.e.
side effects) as a result of screen overload and lead to a general decrease in
cognitive control. Furthermore, Zhou
et al. (2011) found that adolescents’ with internet addiction had decreased
brain gray matter density, specifically in the left anterior and posterior
cingulate cortex and left insula. Dunckley (2014) further reported on the
significance of the insula in developing compassion and empathy, which are
pivotal skills needed for the personal relationships that individuals work on
developing in adolescence.
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Dunckley also reported compromised white matter
integrity, reduced cortical thickness, and impaired cognitive functioning as
negative effects of too much screen time in the review. Compromised white
matter integrity, in her review, referred to the loss in functional
connectivity in the brain, which results in poor internal communication.
Reduced cortical thickness, on the other hand, was found in the frontal lobe of
late adolescent gaming addicts, which resulted in decreased performances in
cognitive functioning. With all of this in mind, there’s a multitude of adverse
consequences that result from too much time in front of a screen, and I will
preemptively provide restrictions in order to avoid the possibility of my
future children acquiring any of these negative effects.
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Additional adverse consequences of excessive
screen time exposure include: poor sleep and low parental attachment (Cajochen
et al., 2011; Hale & Guan, 2015; Lissak, 2018; Richards et al., 2010). Computer
screens emit short wavelength light-emitting diodes (LED), generally known as
blue light. The blue light of the screen enhances alertness and increases
cognitive performance in the evening, because human alert levels and circadian
physiology is sensitive to blue light (Cajochen
et al., 2011). The ability of screens to keep people cognitively
alert is beneficial for adults that need to stay up. However, children and
adolescents rarely need to be cognitively alert after dark. The excessive
screen time exposure thus keeps children and adolescents up and results in a
lack of sleep and increased sleep problems (Hale
& Guan, 2015). Sleep is pivotal for healthy development in
childhood and adolescence. Therefore, if limiting screen time exposure before
and during bed time hours reduces the risk of sleep problems, then my future
children will have bed time restrictions for screen time exposure.
Furthermore, Richards
et al. (2010) found that increased screen time exposure was associated with
low parental attachment for adolescents’ (14-15 years old). Increased
television viewing and computer playing was also associated with low attachment
to peers. Richards et al.’s (2010) results warrant immediate attention, because
adolescence is a transitional period in development in which individuals
socialize and begin to rebel in an effort to gain independence. Therefore,
adolescents’ should at least have high attachment with their peers, if not with
both parents and peers. My future children will not have excessive screen time
exposure so that they’ll be able to properly develop social skills as well as
high attachment to both their parents and peers. Furthermore, family television
viewing will hopefully increase parental attachment as well. My future children
will be able to watch what they want with their parents and develop a healthy
parental relationship in the process, in addition to their independent leisure
screen time.
The final adverse consequence of screen time
that I’ll address in my position paper is particularly catered to mass media
and the potential negative affect of social media on adolescent development and
health. Media, specifically social media, has the potential to foster
friendships and transmit information instantly. However, the social influences
of media can also be detrimental to individuals’ psychological and
physiological health, especially during adolescence.
The media plays a significant role in learning
social norms. For instance, we know what the latest trends are due to media and
we often unconsciously develop the ideals of beauty marked by thinness and
lighter skin complexion. We cannot escape the thinness ideal when every model,
actor/actress, spokesperson and celebrity fit a particular mold. The media
constantly reminds and even reinforces people that there is an ideal body shape
that we should work towards. With that in mind, the media ends up playing a critical
role in the social context for body dissatisfaction and eating disorders. Spettigue
and Henderson (2004) reported that women with anorexia nervosa even
increased their social media use and further internalized the thinness ideal
during the initial onset of the anorexia. The women know that social media is
part of the problem; however, the power of social media to draw their attention
is borderline addictive.
Social media is generally a part of the problem
with regards to the development of eating disorders because of social
comparison and cyber-bullying. However, media has the ability to promote and
spread treatment and prevention messages as well. For instance, media advocacy
and literacy campaigns and trainings for eating disorders are available, but
seldom used or spread enough (especially in adolescent populations). Media thus
plays a critical role in the development (and even treatment) of eating
disorders. Therefore, with the accumulation of all of this empirical evidence
of adverse consequences of excessive screen time exposure and social media
influences, I plan to limit my future children’s screen exposure. Additionally,
I think it is important to teach my children (e.g. young adolescence) the
potential effects of excessive screen time exposure and social media, so that
they are aware of the benefits and consequences of the technology that they
live with.
References
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