The term screen time has been usually referred to in a negative context as the AAP (American Academy Pediatrics) advises parents to limit the screen time for children. The phenomenon itself has existed since the technology has been available to the general public. The installation of television by Americans was more rapid over the 1950’s than any other information and communication technology to come before. With the increase in the technological advances, the use of devices consisting of screens, such as TV, computers, laptops and cell phones, increased resulting in the increase in screen time. In the late 1990’s, adolescents spent an average of 1.5 to 2.5 hours per day watching television. Similar averages are present across nations North America and Europe as well as Japan and Korea. Experts have suggested that excessive screen time is harmful especially if the content is violent. Several many attempts have been made to reduce or control screen time. In the 1970’s the “television-free” movement emerged which appeal to reduce the screen time.The Children’s Television Act (1990) provide the children with more educational programming and the Telecommunication Act of 1996 grant parents a way to control the television content. Both of the Acts put restrictions on how the screen time is used.
Screen time and children
How much screen time a child receives may depend on socioeconomic status and race. Too much screen time can affect a child's health. Research in the United States states that African-American (69%) and Hispanic (68%) children have rates of a television in the bedroom that are twice as high compared to white children (28%). Children consume an extra 167 calories per day for every hour of television viewing. TV viewing also causes an increase in fast food consumption and more time spent playing video game is linked to an increase in weight in children.
The study of increased screen time in children is fairly new and researchers have not been able to observe effects long enough to make a solid conclusion on potential negative consequences as children age.
Screen time and sleep disturbances
With the increased amount of technology in the home comes an increase of certain specific health effects due to the fact that the accumulated amount of daily screen time in children ages 8 to 18 grew from five hours to eight hours from 1996 to 2016. Some of the health effects that can be brought about with increased screen time are lack of sleep due to late bedtimes, arousal from media sources which leads the inability to sleep, daytime tiredness, trouble internalizing and/or externalizing problems according to the study done by Justin Parent.The light from electronic screens can affect the circadian rhythm of children and disrupt alertness directly which is why the American Academy of Pediatrics only recommends children get a maximum of two hours of screen time a day. For young children ages 3–7 the amount of sleep disturbances greatly increases after 6 hours of screen time, and for children 8-12 the amount of sleep disturbances greatly increased after the 10-hour mark. After 4 or 6 hours of daily screen time, sleep duration drops for adolescents.
Internet and screen time
The use of the internet expanded in the 1990s. This caused the increase in the usage of devices that could access the internet and the increase in screen time. In 2001 an average user spent 83 minutes online
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