What Kind of Screen Time?
hendrikboom writes:
At last someone recognizes that it matters what you do on a screen.
"It is really hard to quantify time now. Technology is fully embedded in our lives. But what's more important is what's happening on those screens, the quality of the interaction," she told Goldman.
For example, one hour of pornography for a 14-year-old is "highly toxic, whereas two hours of FaceTime with your grandparents is healthy."
Dr. Kang admitted that parents can be "overwhelmed" at the thought of reining in their kids' screen use.
She said an easy guideline is to compare tech to nutrition: consume healthy tech, limit junk tech, and completely eliminate toxic tech.
[...] Healthy tech, according to Dr. Kang, is tech that is actually good for you. That includes any tech that releases endorphins or oxytocin (exercise and meditation apps) or creates a meaningful connection (video conferencing with friends) or leads to creativity and learning (coding, robotics, art or music).
Junk tech releases dopamine and includes "mindless scrolling, mindless zoning out video gaming. It's like eating a bag of chips. Once in a while is OK, but it's empty calories. So limit and monitor the junk tech," said Dr. Kang.
And avoid toxic tech altogether "just like we avoid toxic foods like aspartame and spoiled milk," she said. "Toxic tech causes your child's stress and is linked to the release of cortisol...The negativity, the hate, the cyberbullying, but also things like prolonged sitting, sleep deprivation and also FOMO or fear of missing out."
Finally someone online knows the difference between "rein" and "reign".
[Ed. note: This story lacks supporting research, but the hypothesis presented seems plausible and reasonable. So, I decided to take a chance and put this story before the community. What has your experience been during the pandemic? How well does your experience match up with the story's premise? How much, if any, do you ration your child's (and your own) screen time? --martyb]
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