In recent years, screens have invaded our lives. Most people spend their time online on addictive social media apps like Instagram, X, Facebook, YouTube, and more. And kids have not been left out in this epidemic. The average screen time for teens daily is over 7 hours, much more than the recommended 2 hours.
Too much screen time has adverse effects on the lives of everyone, including teens. It impacts their academic performance, social life, mental health, physical health, and more. Teens are increasingly getting depressed, have poor sleep habits, and experience social anxiety.
In this article, we’ll cover the average screen time for teens, including the side effects and how to reduce it to healthy levels.
What is screen time?
Screen time refers to the amount of time spent using devices with screens, such as smartphones, laptops, tablets, and PCs. It includes everything you may do on-screen, including work-related and leisure activities, such as browsing on social media platforms.
Types of Screen Time
There are two types of screen time, including productive and non-productive. Here are the details of their differences:
1. Productive screen time
This is associated with all activities on-screen that improve your personal or professional life. For example, using online educational platforms to complete a study session or reading a book on Kindle. It may also be work-related activities like completing a report to share with your team members.
Productive screen time is goal-driven and usually contributes positively to your personal or professional growth.
2. Non productive screen time
This screen time is associated with leisure and entertainment. These activities may include scrolling through social media apps like X, Facebook, and Instagram to socialize. You may also spend time playing video games either with friends or online with other gamers. Watching your favorite TV shows or YouTube videos is also part of non-productive screen time.
Even though non-productive screen time is necessary for relaxing, it may become an issue if it consumes time for other aspects of your life. For example, having less time to physically interact with your family and friends due to social media addiction. Or even sleeping late due to obsession with a video game.
Use parental controls to better manage your kids screen time.
What is the average screen time for teens?
The average screen time for teens is between 8 to 9 hours, according to a report by Commonsense Media. It also revealed that tweens, kids between 8 and 12 years, spend about 5 hours daily on screen.
Screen time distribution by device type is mainly skewed toward smartphones. Teens use smartphones for about 4 hours on a daily basis. They are mainly used for non-productive screen time, including playing video games and browsing social media apps.
Tablets and laptops are the second most used devices by teens, averaging 2 hours on a daily basis. Teens use these devices primarily for educational purposes but may be used to watch movies and play games occasionally.
Even though television has been losing dominance in the wake of smartphones, it may still account for three hours of a teen’s life on a daily basis.
Factors Influencing Screen Time
Some of the factors that influence the amount of time your teen may spend on screen include:
Remote learning: Following the COVID-19 pandemic, the educational world shifted to online learning. This can increase the amount of screen time for teens who attend online classes.
Social Activities: Many addictive social media platforms are there today than a decade ago. Teens may spend more time on social media apps like TikTok, Snapchat, and Instagram to socialize with online friends.
Hobbies and Entertainment.: With the affordability of streaming services like Netflix, watching your favorite TV shows is becoming easier. If your teen is into video games, they may spend more time online.
What is excessive screen time?
Excessive screen time refers to hours of screen interactions that surpass the recommended limits and may negatively impact your life. For example, it may mean spending over 7 hours on non-productive screen time for teens.
Impact of excessive screen time
There are various negative impacts of excessive screen time on teens and adults. Here they are:
- Reduced physical activity: Spending more time on screen leads to a sedentary lifestyle. You end up spending on-screen the time you were to engage in physical activity. This may lead to overweight and obesity.
- Poor sleep quality: Screens emit blue light, which has been proven to reduce melatonin production. Melatonin is a hormone that induces sleep, so if you use your screens in the last hour to sleep, you may struggle to fall asleep.
- Mental health issues: spending more time online may expose your potentially harmful content. This may lead to anxiety and depression. Also, too much on-screen time leads to isolation, which may increase your anxiety levels.
Signs of excessive screen time
Identifying the signs of excessive screen time can help you prevent the effects early. Watch for these signs:
- Neglect of offline activities: It is a sign of excessive screen time when your teen child starts missing social interactions, doesn’t do homework, or engages in their previous hobbies.
- Irritability: If your teen becomes restless when they are away from their phones, they are addicted to screens.
- Poor sleep patterns: Your teen is likely spending more time on screen if they find it hard to fall or stay asleep. Some may also have usual sleep schedules, such as daytime sleepiness or staying up later than usual.
Recognizing these signs in time can help you mitigate the effects of excessive screen use on your teens.
How much screen time is too much by age?
Various age groups have varying needs and weaknesses regarding screen time. Health organizations like The American Academy of Pediatrics have multiple guidelines on screen time limits for different age groups.
Recommended screen time by age group
- Young children (Under 2 years): AAP recommends not exposing them to screen time unless you’re video chatting. For children between 18 to 24 months, ensure you they watch the media in your presence.
- Preschoolers (2-5 years old): Limit the screen time to only one hour daily. Expose the kids to high-quality videos that educate them.
- Children and teens (6 years and older): AAP doesn’t set specific time limits for kids in this age group.
However, it is recommended to limit social media use so that screen time doesn’t interfere with sleep, social interactions, and more.
Impact on younger vs. older teens
Younger teens are more likely to get affected by excessive screen use compared to older teens. They are at a stage where they are developing important social and personal skills. Screen time isolates them from face-to-face interactions. And this may lead to social anxiety and becoming weird when in the presence of friends.
Older teens may have academic challenges when they are not supervised. They may not have a strong sense of self-control regarding screen use.
Comparison to adult screen time
Adults use screen time for work-related tasks necessary to earn an income and support their lives and families. However, they may not be able to control their recreational screen time. Some adults may excessively spend time on social media apps and other addictive websites, leading to negative outcomes like insomnia.
Even though adults may seem to have much stronger self-control, they may still need help to manage their screen use. In-built apps like Digital Wellbeing may come in handy at such times.
What is a good daily average screen time?
A moderate amount of screen time is necessary to be healthy. And health organizations like the American Academy of Pediatrics have stipulated various guidelines on the screen limit for different age groups.
Balanced screen time recommendations
Teens should spend an average of 1 to 2 hours on school days for non-productive screen time. This range can increase to 3 hours during the weekend as they have more time. Ensure their non-productive screen time doesn’t interfere with other aspects of their lives. You teens should be able to have adequate sleep, engage in physical activity, and have face-to-face interactions with their friends and family.
Quality over quantity
Your teens’ screen time quality is more important than quantity. Ensure your kid consumes quality videos that are educational and promote creativity. This is much better than watching non-beneficial entertainment videos. Encourage your teens to consume videos that improve their personal growth.
Customizing screen time for individual needs
Since teens have different needs, the screen time that may work for one teen may not work for another. As a parent, you should work with your teen to develop screen times that match their needs.
Consider academic requirements, leisure time, and social interactions. Encourage your kid to use screen time to encourage face-to-face interactions, such as inviting friends to a party. Adjust screen time to match the academic needs of your kids.
How much screen time is considered addiction?
Understanding screen time addiction can help you identify warning signs and address them before they become dangerous. These addiction patterns may affect your physical, mental, and emotional health.
Screen time addiction involves the compulsive use of digital devices to the extent that it forces the person to neglect other vital aspects of their lives. You are simply unable to control how much time you spend on your phone.
Warning signs of addiction
Here are some of the signs that you’re now obsessed with your phone:
- Mood changes: You may experience irritability, restlessness, or anxiety when you stay away from your phone for a long time.
- Withdrawal from offline activities: If you no longer attend family gatherings or engage in extracurricular activities, you may be addicted to screen time.
- Declining academic performance: Your teen may suddenly have lower grades in school because they spend more time online instead of prioritizing their studies.
- Neglecting personal care: If your teen skips meals and doesn’t bathe or brush their teeth because they spend more time online, it’s a sign of screen time addiction.
Statistics on screen time addiction in teens
According to Exploding Topics, the average screen time for teens is about 7 hours and 22 minutes. This is an increase of 2 hours from back in 2015.
The same report also shows that teens spend three more hours than tweens on screen daily.
According to the Center for Parenting Education, about 23% of kids feel addicted to video games.
Common Sense Research claims that 78% of teens check their phones at least once an hour when awake.
What are the side effects of excessive screen time?
Excessive use of screens leads to various physical, mental, and behavioral side effects. Understanding these side effects may help you recognize and manage screen time addiction.
Physical health effects:
- Eye strain and vision problems: Prolonged use of screens may lead to blurred vision and discomfort in the eye.
- Poor posture and back pain: Screen use demands sitting for long periods, which may hurt your back, leading to poor posture.
- Sleep disruption: Blue screens may affect melatonin production, which induces sleep.
Mental health effects:
- More anxiety and depression: Due to isolation for long periods, you may develop anxiety and get depressed.
- Reduced attention span: Constant bombardment by notifications on your phone may lead to low attention spans.
Social and behavioral effects:
- Social isolation: When you spend more time online, you have less time to interact with people face-to-face. This may impact your relationships and social life.
- Aggressive behaviors: Your kid may become violent due to exposure to inappropriate content online. They may be driven to try what they watched online in real life.
- Neglect of responsibilities: Screen time addiction may lead to procrastination of essential duties.
How to reduce your teen’s screen time?
Reducing your teen’s screen time will help them have a balanced life that ensures personal and social growth. Here are some of the strategies to implement to reduce your teen’s screen time:
Use a parental control app like FlashGet Kids
FlashGet Kids is a comprehensive parental control app that can help you regulate your teen’s screen time. Here is how it works:
- Download and install the FlashGet Kids app for parents on your phone. You can do this directly from their official website or Google PayStore for Android and iPhone App store.
- Register a FlashGet account to sign up and use the app.
- Download and install the FlashGet Kids app for kids on your child’s phone.
- Bind the FlashGet Kids parental control app on your phone to the kid’s version on their phone. Put a 9-digit code from the parental control app onto your child’s phone.
- Follow the prompts on your kid’s phone to allow the app to access other phone features like the camera.
- To use the screen time on FlashGet Kids, go to the dashboard and tap usage limits.
- Decide the “Limit Type” you want to configure. You can set “Available Time Limits” and ” Timespan Limits.”
- Available Time Limits help you set up a time for a child to play. Timespan Limits is for the timespan the child can not play.
- You can then customize the time, “Every day” or ” Customize everyday timespan.” After this, tap on “Save.”
Encourage other activities
You can urge your kid to join a soccer team, read a book, or develop hobbies that help develop their skills. In the process, you’ll reduce their screen time and eliminate the chances of getting the harmful effects of screen time addiction.
Discuss the effects of excess screen time
Sometimes, conversing with your teen about the dangerous effects of screen time can make them adopt better habits. When kids learn about adverse effects like depression, anxiety, and insomnia, they may change their minds.
FAQs
Technically, the time spent in viewing television programs is also considered effective screen time. They should count the time which is spend with watching the TV when determining the screen time of other devices such as phones or tablets.
Yes, screen time may affect your mental health. Even though there are some enhanced benefits, the consequences are anxiety and depression. You also become socially isolated as you’ve neglected family members and friends.
Certainly, prolonged use of a screen has adverse impact on the brain. You may lack adequate sleep, short span of concentration and slow mental reasoning.
Well, yes, too much screen time is not good for the eyes as this may lead to tired eyes, teary eyes, dryness, and what not, but most importantly, even the development of myopia in the longer run.
