Until I see something refuting the studies that show screen time strongly linked to increased levels of depression and anxiety in children/teenagers, and also decreased attention span, I'll continue to be concerned. As far as I know the same link hasn't been shown for books. One could argue that kids who are already depressed/anxious just look at screens more, but that doesn't explain the massive increase of both in kids and teenagers over the past decade.
Maybe the history of new media and the reaction of the thought leaders throughout history could give you pause. Socrates warned that the written word would ruin our ability to remember and reason. It's my favorite cautionary tale warning us against the dangers of new media. I've made a list a few times of the things that are going to ruin the youth and lead to the downfall of society here on hubski before, so here's a quick few. Old people are generally afraid of shit they don't understand and our generation is no different Comic Books Television Movies Video Games Drugs Dancing Rock and Roll R&B (mostly a danger for white women) Rap Any number of classic works of literature Another one of my favorites was the time a doctor testified to a congressional panal that the Rolling Stones song Paint it Black's beat was contrary to the beat of the human heart and playing it on the radio might cause the death of countless youths. That being said, I'm pretty concerned about when and under what terms I'm going to let my child use social media. I know that I don't understand how young people use it or its dangers. It's a stance born out of fearful ignorance and she'll probably be smart enough to work around any roadblocks I try and put in her way by the time she is a teen.
Best way to deal with introducing things you don't understand to your child is through teaching skills to deal with unknown and uncomfortable situations! The majority of kids are going online without any guidance, and the majority of kids are going to turn out fine. If you want to hedge your bets, give her some knowledge about the types of scams she might encounter, and the type of people she needs to be wary of. Your awareness of the situation makes me think you'll do a great job, for what it counts :)
I'll just mention that Google has a pretty decent game to teach internet safety called Be Internet Awesome. You can harp at your kid all you want about using good passwords or what is safe sharing of information and what isn't but after they have battled a troll over control of their personal info the the ideas really start to sink in. We try to be pretty upfront about challenges she'll face in life but it's the curve balls that usually throw you for a loop. I'm sure she'll have to face a bunch horrible, strange and mean stuff in her life but hopefully she'll be resilient and self aware enough to get through it.
You'll have to link those specific studies in question, because it's possible their methodology is flawed. Rates of anxiety and depression are up across the board and it's not so easy to authoritatively link it to using technology. Increased screen time can be a sign of idleness which isn't necessarily technology's fault. What we call anxiety and depression was for previous generations being "stressed out", and there are a myriad of social/environmental/economic factors driving people to despair these days.
It seems pretty unanimous to me. It's more than a few studies. And suicide rates are up among young people, too, so it's more than relabeling something that already existed. 1. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2211335518301827 2. https://academic.oup.com/sleep/article/41/suppl_1/A298/4988845 3. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/2167702617723376 4. https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-11/sdsu-stm110917.php 5. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15060216 6. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0091743515000316 7. https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0119607 8. https://akademiai.com/doi/abs/10.1556/2006.4.2015.010 9. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0165032716303196 10. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0747563216308445
I think it's disingenuous to say "Suicide rates are up, so it must be this one factor I've found." I also wish you'd do a little analysis for your audience on the studies you're showing us, and a little more work reading your own articles. I found the following list from references in your provided studies: Reinforcement or Displacement? the Reciprocity of FTF, IM, and SNS Communication and Their Effects on Loneliness and Life Satisfaction: How does online social networking enhance life satisfaction?: Friend Networking Sites and Their Relationship to Adolescents' Well-Being and Social Self-Esteem.: (This one isn't "Social Media Good!", but it clearly shows that the research is not unanimous) Screen time and young children: Promoting health and development in a digital world.: Development and validation of the Problematic Media Use Measure: A parent report measure of screen media “addiction” in children. ... “Our study has demonstrated that there is more to it than number of hours. What matters most is whether screen use causes problems in other areas of life or has become an all-consuming activity.” Now...Why am I leaving such a huge comment in a thread like this? Because I wanted this to be a space for discussion rather than a list of articles you agree with and a declaration that discussion is over. The research isn't unanimous, and it isn't finished. We know that excessive screen-time is bad, but with caveats - that it can be beneficial in small doses, that some types of screen-time aren't bad, and that it can actually have a positive affect on sociability under specific circumstances. I want this discussion to be nuanced. More nuanced than "The research is unanimous, screens are bad." Let's talk about benefits, detriments, and our personal experiences if we're going to talk at all. Let's not say "Suicide is up, and I blame technology."Does communication on social network sites (SNSs) or instant messengers (IMs) reinforce or displace face-to-face (FtF) communication, and how do the 3 channels affect loneliness and life satisfaction? Using cross-lagged structural equation modeling in a longitudinal and representative sample from Germany, we found that SNS communication increased both FtF and IM communication 6 months later. Likewise, IM communication at T1 increased SNS communication at T2. FtF, SNS, and IM communication did not affect loneliness, and FtF and IM communication did not change life satisfaction. However, communication on SNSs slightly increased life satisfaction. Thus, the data indicated that conversing via SNSs and IM has a mainly reinforcing effect and that communicating via SNSs can enhance life satisfaction several months later.
The purpose of this study is to examine whether supportive interactions on social networking sites mediate the influence of SNS use and the number of SNS friends on perceived social support, affect, sense of community, and life satisfaction. Employing momentary sampling, the current study also looked at the relationship between supportive interaction and immediate affect after the interaction over a period of 5 days. An analysis of 339 adult participants revealed a positive relationship between supportive interaction and positive affect after the interaction.
We conducted a survey among 881 adolescents (10-19-year-olds) who had an online profile on a Dutch friend networking site. Using structural equation modeling, we found that the frequency with which adolescents used the site had an indirect effect on their social self-esteem and well-being. The use of the friend networking site stimulated the number of relationships formed on the site, the frequency with which adolescents received feedback on their profiles, and the tone (i.e., positive vs. negative) of this feedback. Positive feedback on the profiles enhanced adolescents' social self-esteem and well-being, whereas negative feedback decreased their self-esteem and well-being.
Beginning at about 2 years, quality TV—well-designed, age-appropriate programs with specific educational goals—can provide an additional route to early language and literacy for children. Quality programming also fosters aspects of cognitive development, including positive racial attitudes and imaginative play. Early evidence suggests that interactive media, specifically applications that involve contingent responses from an adult (i.e., timely reactions to what a child says or does), can help children retain taught information. This responsiveness, when coupled with age-appropriate content, timing and intensity of action, can teach new words to 24-month-olds. There is early evidence that interactive ‘learn-to-read’ apps and e-books can build early literacy by providing practice with letters, phonics and word recognition. However, while screens may help with language learning when quality content is co-viewed and discussed with a parent or caregiver, preschoolers learn best (i.e., in expressive and vocabulary terms) from live, direct and dynamic interactions with caring adults.
The current study reports on the development and validation of a parent-report measure of one potential aspect of children’s problematic use—screen media addiction—via the Problematic Media Use Measure (PMUM). Items were based on the 9 criteria for Internet gaming disorder in the DSM–5.
“Typically, researchers and clinicians quantify or consider the amount of screen time as of paramount importance in determining what is normal or not normal or healthy or unhealthy,” said lead author Sarah Domoff, who did the research while a postdoctoral research fellow at University of Michigan Center for Human Growth and Development.
I appreciate this point very much. We don’t know yet. And while as parents we try to navigate what we think/feel might be best for our kids, all of this stuff adjusts over time as we gather more information.The research isn't unanimous, and it isn't finished.