Digital Screen Addiction in Our Children

Three years after my TEDx Talk on Cell Phone Addiction in Children, addictions are worse than ever, as digital screen usage has bleakly intensified.

Back then (2018), 50% of American teens admitted they were addicted to their cell phones. Today, 92% of Americans believe that their smartphone addiction is real [US survey by KDA Engineering]

Time spent online increased dramatically in the past two years of lockdowns due to Covid. Millions of pupils switched to remote learning, and social media use skyrocketed.

Statistics paint a grim picture of dependency and addiction to digital screen devices for people of all ages. It has become the norm that is not normal. But it is most noticeable in our children. More and more parents are desperately asking, “What has happened to my child?”

Common Denominator

In these past two years of deeply disrupted routines at home and school, the one thing that has increased exponentially is the overwhelming amount of time children spend on cell phones, tablets, computers, and video games.

The children are not alone. The normal role models – parents and teachers – have their ever-present cell phone always at hand.

It is an addiction, just like alcohol, opioids, food, tobacco, or gambling. The marketing-advertising, and the digital device itself, are built to addict the user. It is known as “Digital Heroin”.

The problem is that Digital Screen Addiction is available for everyone, beginning at a very young age. Children need to grow and develop through PLAY, as I discussed in a previous blog: The power of play. Playfulness is an important anti-dote for this disquieting Tech challenge to our children’s growth and development.

But children have too often discarded PLAY for the solitary engagement of the digital screen. The fixation is as pure and powerful as every addiction always is, when a human being is obsessed, craving, and dependent on an outside object of interest.

Statistics

The Guardian news source obtained data from January 2020 to 2021 that was provided by 60,000 families, and the findings show that website and app visits were up by more than 100% compared with January 2020. The average daily time spent on apps rose by 15% [The Guardian, Jan. 2021].

What does that look like in our younger population?

Teens

American teenagers spend 7 hours, 22 minutes per day on average with screen media, not counting schoolwork or homework [Common Sense Census Sept. 2019].

Teens have a real Fear of Missing Out (FOMO) and 80% of teens spend 1-3 hours on their phones in bed right before falling asleep [Screen Education, May 2020].

97% of male teens and 83% of female teens play videogames on average, 7 hours and 7 minutes per week; they spend more time playing video games than reading, doing homework, and engaging in sports and active leisure.

32% of teens text while driving; Close to 30% of teen driving crashes are due to mobile phone use, including looking for it and reaching for it; 11 teens die per day from distracted driving caused by their mobile devices [AAA 2020].

More TEEN Concerns: [CompareCamp.com]

71% of teen users who spend five hours a day on cellphones are likely to develop suicide risk factors
51% of teen users who spend five hours a day on their phones get insufficient sleep, because screens reduce the body’s production of melatonin, necessary for sleeping.
Teens experience withdrawal symptoms when separated from cellphone (i.e. increased heart rate and blood pressure).

Children

More than half of American children own a smartphone by the age of 11 [NPR WHYY Oct. 2019].

The CDC report on Hours per day of screen time on entertainment media (tablets, cellphone, computer,TV):

Age 8-10 > spend 6 hours per day on screen time

Age 11-14> spend 9 hours per day on screen time

The Kaiser Foundation:

Age 8-18 > average, 7.5 hours per day on screen time (4.5 of which are spent watching TV).

Over a year, that equals 114 full days watching a screen for fun. That doesn’t include time spent on the computer at school and at home for homework.

Toddlers

[JAMA Pediatrics Feb. 2019]

1.5 – 2 years old > can spend as much as three hours each day on a screen. Compare that with an average of 20 to 30 minutes they can spend with a favorite toy (blocks, books, dolls, trucks).

Anecdotes:

a 2 year old > on ELMO app > the longer amount of time on the Elmo app, the harder it is to get the child’s attention.

a 6 year old > when forced to turn off device, got so angry, he had a meltdown and threw rocks at windows from the family’s backyard.

These statistics are shocking, and more and more parents are alarmed as they witness the daily onslaught of digital addiction in their children.

My TEDx Talk three years ago was called, “Saving the Magic of Childhood”. It’s time to find a way back into that precious magic.

This blog discussion will continue to explore this topic of Digital Screen Addiction and address how digital devices affect the brain, and the severe childhood disorders and suicides now associated with digital addiction. Also, the Light Lessons will shine on the remedies for this disorder.

If you have a story or a question regarding this all-important topic of digital addiction, please contact me. Also, please share this blog with parents, grandparents and families who are seeing these behaviors first-hand, and may need this information. Let them know that this series of blogs on Digital Addiction will be discussing personal case scenarios and remedies to restore the magic of childhood.

We have much to share and learn… and much to…

LIGHT ON!