If there’s one thing teenagers love, it’s their phones. In some ways, this isn’t all that different than it was twenty or thirty years ago (although, those phones were used in very different ways). Teens understandably like the idea of staying connected and building social relationships with each other. But there are some drawbacks to modern device use that mean promoting healthy screen time habits is a good move for parents.
Think about how much time your teen spends looking at screens everyday (or how much time you spend on screens yourself). Screens are ubiquitous. And they’re incredibly useful, but they are not without costs.
Limiting your teenager’s screen time can help improve their mental and physical health, as well as establish healthy habits and behaviors that they can take with them into adulthood. This process isn’t always easy–but it’s typically worth it for parents and teens alike.
How Are Teenagers Using Screens
Most teens spend somewhere around 9 hours a day using screens. That’s a lot of screen time! You might be wondering what they’re doing with all that time. In general, teens will often use screen time for the following:
Social maintenance: Teens will spend time building and maintaining social relationships with their peers. This can be done on social media or through text messaging applications.
Entertainment: Whether it’s playing video games or watching Netflix, teens will understandably spend a great deal of time using their screens for entertainment purposes.
School work: Often, screens are necessary to perform school work. From math to english to science, almost every subject now requires a certain amount of screen time in order to complete assignments.
Utility purposes: While perhaps not the most popular category of screen time, modern devices will often have nearly irreplaceable utility (providing navigation while one is driving, for example).
It’s important to have discussions with your teen about what they are using their screens for. It’s also important to note that in this context “screens” does not apply just to smart phones. Televisions, computer screens, reading devices–it all counts!
How to Set Screen Time Limits and Boundaries
Eliminating screen time entirely is not always desirable or practical. However, there are some things that parents can do to help create healthy screen time habits and put some limits on screen time. This will vary on an individual basis, depending on the needs of your family. However, most recommendations will include the following:
Set a time limit for non-school-related screen time: This could be an hour or two hours a day, depending on your teen.
Create no-screen zones: This could be certain areas of the home where screens are not allowed to be used or certain times of day. For example, you could designate the dining room or kitchen as “no-screen zones.”
Create a screen time plan for the whole family: If limiting screen time is healthy, then it’s something everyone should do, right? (Your teen is sure to point this out.) It makes sense, then, to create a media screen time plan–and healthy screen time habits–for your whole family!
When you set these boundaries and limitations, it’s important to create enforcement mechanisms you’ll actually use. Get your teens involved in developing these rules–that way they’ll have a stake in seeing it done successfully (and enforcement will seem far less arbitrary).
Encourage Offline Activities
Promoting healthy screen time habits doesn’t always have to be about what you can’t have. Sometimes, it’s also about what you’re able to add into your teens’ lives! In other words, you should be encouraging offline activities. For example, you could:
Put aside some time for quality family time. (Board game nights are always fun.)
Reserve meal times for discussion of your teens days. (Even if they don’t respond much, it’s important to show that you care about what’s happening.)
Enroll your teens in some physical activities or musical activities–especially if it’s something they are interested in.
Encourage your teen to spend time with their friends in-person.
In this regard, it’s important to model good behavior. For example, make sure you’re getting a decent amount of activity every day. And put your phone away when you’re having a conversation with someone–this will help model appropriate and acceptable behavior to your child.
Promoting Healthy Screen Time Habits is a Balancing Act
Screens are absolutely essential for modern living. And skills navigating those screens are going to be vital for your teen as they journey into adulthood. (If, for example, your teen doesn’t know how to check their email–that could be a problem!) So, on the one hand, you want to limit screen time–on the other hand, your teen needs to be fluent with screens.
This means that promoting healthy screen time habits will always be something of a balancing act. You want your teen to have healthy real-world interactions with their peers in addition to having healthy online interactions.
If you need help balancing screen time and screen literacy, you can talk to your teen’s pediatrician during their annual wellness exam. Schedule an appointment to help your teen develop healthy screen time habits.