New Study Says Parents Worry About the Wrong Screentime Issues

If you are a parent of tweens or teens, their use of screens is most likely always on your mind, and with good reason. There has been much data and speculation that phones, social media, and other electronics impact kids’ sleep, learning, and mental health. But setting strict time limits and using access to a device as behavior correction isn’t really a realistic answer in an increasingly tech-focused world.

The Most Important Factor When It Comes to ScreenTime

A recent study published in June in JAMA, a journal of the American Medical Association, suggests that the most significant danger comes not from the amount of time kids spend using screens, but the impact that use has on them. Users who are “addicted” to their devices have an increased risk of serious mental health issues. Researchers followed more than 4,000 children starting at about age 10 focusing on their screen use over that time.

“Addictive use is “excessive use” that interferes with home responsibilities, schoolwork or other activities,” said Yunyu Xiao, lead study author and an assistant professor in the department of population health sciences and department of psychiatry at Weill Cornell Medical College in New York. “They find a craving for it and cannot stop using it.”

The study relied on self-reported assessments, both to determine how much time users spent in front of screens (including “streaming movies or television shows, single-player games, multiplayer games, texting, social media, and video chatting”) and how much addictive behavior they demonstrated, based on questions such as:

“I feel the need to use social media apps more and more (1 [never] to 6 [very often]).
The thought of being without my phone makes me feel distressed (1 [strongly disagree] to 7 [strongly agree]).
I play video games so I can forget about my problems (1 [never] to 6 [very often]).”

While researchers found that “high or increasing trajectories of addictive use of social media, mobile phones, or video games were common in early adolescence and were associated with suicide-related and mental health outcomes,” this was not caused by excessive screen use. In fact, they report that “one key finding was that total screen time was not associated with suicide-related or mental health outcomes, nor did it alter the strength or direction of associations between addictive use trajectories and these outcomes.” In fact, some study subjects who reported relatively low screen time use rated high on the addictive scale and more likely to suffer poor mental health.

But this doesn’t mean parents should relax and allow teens and tweens unfettered use. In fact, it means the opposite. One alarming finding: “This study identified distinct trajectories of addictive use of social media, mobile phones, and video games from childhood to early adolescence and found links to suicidal behaviors, suicidal ideation, and worse mental health outcomes.” Almost half the young people studied were on a high trajectory of addictive use for mobile phones, and over 40% were on a high trajectory of addictive use for video games, according to the researchers.

Users who demonstrated strong addictive behaviors early in the study and those whose addictive tendencies grew over time were found to be more at risk for suicidal behaviors and suicidal ideation than those who showed little to no addictive behaviors, regardless of total screen time. (Those demonstrating addictive patterns around social media and cell phones were found to have a greater risk, up to be two to three times higher than those with low addictive tendencies.)

What can parents do to prevent phone addiction

Modeling appropriate phone boundaries and monitoring their technology behavior is the best defense to teen smartphone addiction. Kids need to know that they do not need to have their devices all the time.

Teen brains are developing at a rapid pace, making them more susceptible to addiction than adults, so we need to pay attention to how your teen is using their phone and talk about how to have a healthy relationship with it. Some tips include:

Ensuring your tween/teen is ready for a smartphone (Read: Questions to Ask to Know If Your Tween or Teen Is Ready for a Phone)
Set tech rules and boundaries before handing over a phone, but also remember that as the parent, you can set new boundaries/rules whenever you feel appropriate. (Read: Here Are The Tech Rules You Need To Be Setting For Your Tweens and Teens) You may also like this downloadable list of technology rules.
To avoid fights and constant negotiations, consider having your child sign a cell phone contract or social media contract so you have clear rules, expectations, and consequences.
Have regular conversations about technology use, including asking what apps they are using and why, news they might see online or on social media, and how they monitor their own usage. Watch how they react when they’ve been online for a long time and ensure their tech usage isn’t impacting their sleep.
Set screen-free times, such as meals and an hour before bed. (Read: The Most Important Reason Teens Should Not Have Their Phones At Night)
Encourage and create opportunities for screen-free play/events.
Have a family check on screen time. Each person in the family should see how much time they spent on tech each week. Merely seeing this number can be startling, but more important is to deep dive into what apps are taking up the most time and why (For example, using a fitness app to workout for six hours a week is good, but six hours per week scrolling mindlessly on social media could promote unhealthy and addictive behaviors.) Another question to ask to assess addictive behavior: how we are using screens each day? What apps or features do we use most often and why? Does our screen use make us feel better or add to our life in some way? How do we feel when we’re not using our device?

Your Own Phone Use Will Often Dictate Your Child’s Use

After a recent update, I get weekly notifications about how much time I use my phone each week, broken down by calls, texts, apps, etc. Frankly, my initial reaction to these numbers was shock and a bit of embarrassment. I spend way too much time using apps that don’t bring me joy. (I have also noticed what I think is the start of carpal tunnel, which one study indicates is more common in those who use smartphones more than 2 hours a day.)

So, my new game is to reduce that screen time each week (and am considering deleting the Facebook app altogether). Am I really interested in scrolling multiple times a day? No, it has become a habit, sometimes brought on by boredom or a need to feel (or look) busy even when taking a break. I am a fairly disciplined person, yet I struggle with meeting this goal. When adults spend so much time looking at their phones, why do we expect teens to behave any differently?

Signs of Phone Addiction

Six signs your teen or tween may have an unhealthy relationship with technology or their phone:

They appear anxious or panic when they have to put their phone down or can’t check it.
The first and last thing they do each day is check their phone.
They are overly concerned with getting a post “just right” and monitoring how it performs.
Their mood is severely altered (either positively or negatively) after checking their phone.
They constantly think they hear their phone buzz (even when it doesn’t.) These phantom vibrations often occur during school or other times when your teen is not supposed to acce their phone.
They start detaching from activities and people they used to enjoy in favor of scrolling.

The amount of time you allow your child to be on their phone is personal. One teen’s cell phone usage may be more than others, yet they have no problem with it. Another teen’s smartphone use could be less, but their inability to disconnect is worse. Addiction to anything can be a real problem, so contact a medical practitioner or mental health therapist if you need help.

If you or someone you know is struggling with suicidal thoughts or mental health matters, please call the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline by dialing 988 to connect with a trained counselor, or visit the 988 Lifeline website.

Looking for more resources for tech and teens?

We recommend every parent read The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt. A must-read for all parents: the generation-defining investigation into the collapse of youth mental health in the era of smartphones, social media, and big tech—and a plan for a healthier, freer childhood.