There are mixed debates around whether the impact of technology on kids is negatively affecting young kids or providing them resources and helping to educate them. Read more to find out all the details as to how much technology is healthy for children, and what parents can do at home to avoid their children becoming screen dependent.
The Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for The Digital Child, a project based at the University of Wollongong are researching and finding ways to help young children make digital technology work for children’s health and well-being.
So how much technology exposure is unhealthy for our kids?
Digital technology isn’t always a bad idea for young kids. In fact, some have positive views in the way kids are using technology.
There are ways in which we can help make digital technology work for young children.
The issue is that people need to recognise that children are in the process of developing self-regulation. When it’s hard enough for many of us as adults to switch off our use of technology and put limits it is even harder for children who are only developing their capacity to regulate their own behaviour.
There are a variety of ways to help kids adapt to this new life of technology and to interact with tech in a positive way. This could be done through engaging children in a range of activities which has always been important as it continues to be more in the digital world.
People need to consider not only thinking about limiting children’s tech use but to also be asking questions about what the technology is helping them do and how technology is becoming part of their learning as well as their connections with the world in positive ways.
The overuse of technology, however, can be problematic and to understand the problematic tech use or overuse is to seek to understand when and how it happens, and what we might want to be different.
Some parents complain the hours of screen time with kids using technology and viewing television programs has caused children into developing their communicating skills late in their age. Other parents are supporting the fact that children are using technology for education purposes however with a set of boundaries on how they would like their kids to use technology.
Digital technology isn’t always an issue and can be programmatic however some parents have said they loved spending more time with their kids during the pandemic as everything became online.
So, what are the national guidelines for screen time?
According to the Australian institute of family studies, for screen time, the guidelines recommend:
- No screen time for children younger than two years
- No more than one hour per day for children aged 2–5 years
- No more than two hours of sedentary recreational screen time per day for children and young people aged 5–17 years (not including schoolwork).
There are many research projects about screen-dependence in children, which could prove useful for parents in helping limit the use of technology in their household.
A report by The Royal Children’s Hospital in Melbourne has found that that the vast majority (94%) of Australian teenagers were reported to have one or more of their own personal mobile screen-based devices (such as smartphone and/or tablet), followed by two-thirds (67%) of primary school-aged children, a third (36%) of pre-schoolers and 17% of infants and toddlers.
Overall, the mixed debates of whether technology is impacting young kids or providing them resources and helpful ways to educate them still depends on up to what parents and teachers can do to harness technology in a positive and beneficial way.
