Otago University health researcher Dr Moira Smith says that screen use harms children’s health and well-being. She says it is associated with obesity, poor mental well-being, poor sleep and mental functioning and lack of physical activity. It also affects children’s ability to concentrate and regulate their behaviour and emotions.
The Government is proposing more regulation of social media. But ultimately this is something that needs to be fixed within the family, not regulated by the state.
Full story below …
New Zealand children spend a third of after-school time on screens – study
Researchers are calling for urgent regulations to protect children from harm in the online world.
The call comes as the researchers find Kiwi kids spend one-third of their after-school time on screens.
The study, published on Friday in the New Zealand Medical Journal, looked at the after-school habits of 12-year-olds and found children are spending a third of their after-school time on screens, including more than half their time after 8pm.
Television accounted for the highest proportion of screen time (42.4 percent), followed by computers (32 percent), mobile devices (13 percent ) and tablets (12.6 percent).
The Ministry of Health recommends children’s recreational screen time should be zero for under two-year-olds, less than one hour per day for children aged two to five, and less than two hours per day for children aged five to 17.
Appearing on AM, Otago University health researcher Dr Moira Smith said the results won’t be a surprise to most people but it is a serious issue that needs to be addressed.
“It is hard to avoid being on screens now,” Dr Smith said.
Screen use harms children’s health and well-being. Dr Smith said it is associated with obesity, poor mental well-being, poor sleep and mental functioning and lack of physical activity. It also affects children’s ability to concentrate and regulate their behaviour and emotions.
“Screen time is an entrenched part of children’s day… children now are born into a digital age, they’re digital natives.”
Dr Smith said current New Zealand legislation is outdated and fails to adequately deal with the online world children are being exposed to.
She said children are being exposed to ads for vaping, alcohol, gambling and junk food, and experiencing sexism, racism and bullying while online.
Dr Smith said the Government is proposing more regulation of social media in its recent consultation document from the Department of Internal Affairs (DIA), which notes concern about children accessing inappropriate content while online.
The Otago researchers are currently studying the online worlds of children in Aotearoa using screen capture technology, with the results expected to be published soon.
Bob McCoskrie is the National Director of Family First New Zealand, he has a Masters of Commerce with Honours from the University of Auckland and a Diploma of Teaching from the Auckland College of Education. He posts regularly on McBlog - Where this article was sourced.
1 comment:
The gross overuse of screens in all areas of children's lives needs examining.
There is not only the overuse of screens in homes but also the overuse in schools. Sweden has returned to texts away from screens in schools. Workers in Silicon Valley allow their children only about one hour PER WEEK on screens at home and send their children to schools that avoid screens. These informed people are very aware of the dangers of screens to the developing brain.
It isn't just the content, and the lack of exercise it is also the effect of the light and the bursts of dopamine causing addiction. Overseas they have special camps where children ,whose parents can afford it, can go to be detoxified just like a heroin or similar. addiction.
Screens are an example of new technology doing tremendous harm as well as good. Of course our foolish MoE being progressive pushes screens because of their progressive ideology which dictates any new fad must always be better than anything traditional.
A member of my family who was one of the first in the 1980s to introduce computing into secondary schools in NZ but is now totally appalled at the ubiquitous nature of screens in primary schools. He believes there should be none before secondary.
Another concern is that learning disorders like, hyperactivity are worsened by keyboard use. Science now says handwriting is a very important activity for children in developing the prefrontal lobe and retention of knowledge.
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