The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services released a surgeon general’s advisory on screen use in children, warning that excessive screen time has become a public health concern. The advisory notes that exposure to screens often begins before a child’s first birthday and increases with age. By adolescence, children may spend more time on screens than sleeping or attending school, with the amount of time spent on screens reaching an average of four or more hours per day by the teenage years, according to the report.
Screen use can be associated with worse sleep, decreased functioning in school, less physical activity, and weakened in-person relationships. The advisory notes that nearly half of adolescents admit they lose track of time spent on their phones. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. wrote that while screen use can have benefits, “the evidence of a range of risks to children’s overall mental and physical health is mounting,” noting that the problem extends beyond social media to include gaming, online gambling, and other virtual interactions.
Specific Recommendations
The advisory recommends no screen time for children under 18 months, less than one hour per day for children under 6, and two hours per day for ages 6 to 18. The guidelines are organized around five “Ds”: discuss healthy screen use with household members; do model healthy behaviors; delay screen time from the earliest age; divert attention to other activities like physical activity; and disconnect regularly. The advisory also includes recommendations for schools to implement cell phone policy restrictions, for healthcare providers to include screen use questions in annual well-child visits, and for policymakers to pursue laws providing parental controls and child safety protections.
Expert Perspectives
Some experts caution against a one-size-fits-all approach. Dr. Courtney Blackwell, an associate professor of medical social sciences at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, noted that research at the population level “is not definitive” on whether screen time causes harm, and emphasized that context matters. Dr. John Mann, a professor of translational neuroscience at Columbia University, published research in JAMA showing higher levels of addictive screen use for social media and mobile phones was associated with two to three times greater risks of suicidal behaviors, and argued public health warnings should focus on youth with “addictive” behaviors rather than making blanket recommendations.
This article is an AI-assisted summary. All facts and figures are drawn from the original report: https://theatlantavoice.com/surgeon-general-warns-kids-screen-use/