RAISING DIGITAL KIDS
— by Mike Daugherty
The Rights and Wrongs
of Screen Time
P
arents in homes across the
country are beginning to
grow tired of how much time
their children are spending on the new
digital devices they received as gifts
just a few weeks ago during the holi-
day season. I would venture that more
than a few parents have already taken a
tablet or gaming system away because
of overuse. The increased screen time
inevitably leads to a conversation about
how much screen time is appropriate for
young minds.
I’m no stranger to the screen time
dilemma. My opinion about the proper
amount of screen time comes through a
combination of fatherhood and experi-
ence. I’ve spent the past nineteen years
working with students and technology in
a public school district as well as in my
own home. Educators often talk about
an “always learning” mindset. In that
spirit, I took the opportunity to do some
research.
Screen time has been a hotly de-
bated topic for the last decade. The
conversation initially revolved around
equity. It is essential to understand how
34 WNY Family January 2019
our society got to this point. Researchers
suggested that children of well-off fami-
lies would have access to the resources
of the Internet while those who could
not afford devices would struggle and
ultimately fall behind. The problem was
dubbed the “Digital Divide.” It centered
around access to technology and the in-
ternet. We asked, “How do we get all
kids on to a screen?”
The decrease in the cost of devices
and the increased availability of WiFi
over the last five to eight years went far
in closing that gap. It seems as though
everyone has at least one device now, if
not several. That’s not entirely accurate,
but equity is less of a problem than in
the past.
Today, the issue is reversed. The
burning question on many minds now is
“How do we get kids OFF their screen?!”
Some parents, researchers, and educa-
tors believe kids are spending too much
time in front of a screen. The revelation
from mid-2018 that many parents in the
epicenter of technology (Silicon Valley)
are raising their children in a technolo-
gy-free environment has only served to
add fuel to the fire. We were so focused
on getting access to everyone that we
may have gone overboard. Let’s look at
what we know.
According to a 2018 study by Com-
mon Sense Media, teenagers spend
roughly nine hours per day online. Pre-
teens (8-12) average about five hours. I
wasn’t able to find data that would in-
dicate the exact change from ten years
ago, however, all the research agrees
that time online is trending upward. In
comparison, the average adult spends
5.9 hours online up from 2.7 hours in
2008. Those studies included televi-
sion time and streaming music, which
are both a bit misleading in my opinion.
Netflix may account for an increase in
television viewing, but streaming music
isn’t “screen time.”
It seems alarming to think kids are
spending over one-third of their day on-
line. We have to remember a few key
points though. The world continues to
transition to digital platforms for ev-
eryday activities. The increase in screen
time is a natural consequence of that
transition.
Second, and more importantly,
not all screen time is bad. Those same
devices that have us so worried have
also opened the door to a never-ending
stream of information, creativity, and
exploration. Our children have the abil-
ity not only to learn but take a deep, in-
depth dive into any topic they choose.
They can explore 306 million resources
on dinosaurs, 107 million sites on sport
medicine careers, or 4.2 billion results
on the best colleges in the U.S. Kids can
learn how to write computer code, cook
incredible meals, and do just about any-
thing through the power of the Internet.
Technology gives students access to re-
sources outside of the four walls of the
school or even the broader community.
So what’s the right
answer?
To answer that, I believe we need
to separate screen time into two catego-
ries: consumption and creation. Con-
sumption time is where kids are pas-