Children’s screen time has skyrocketed amid pandemic, alarming parents and researchers

Overall, children’s screen time had doubled in May compared to the same time a year earlier, according to Qustodio, a company that tracks the use of tens of thousands of devices used by older children. from 4 to 15 years in the world. Data showed that usage increased over time: in the United States, for example, children spent an average of 97 minutes a day on YouTube in March and April, up from 57 minutes in February, and nearly double that. use a year ago. – with similar trends observed in Great Britain and Spain. The company calls the monthly increase “the Covid effect”.

Children turn to screens because they say they have no alternative activities or entertainment – this is where they spend time with friends and go to school – while children Technology platforms take advantage of loyalty through tactics such as virtual cash rewards or “limited edition” perks to maintain daily “streaks” of use.

“It was a gift to them – we gave them a captive audience: our children,” said Dr. Dimitri Christakis, director of the Center for Child Health, Behavior and Development at the Seattle Children’s Research Institute. The cost will be borne by families, said Dr Christakis, as increased online use is associated with anxiety, depression, obesity and aggression – “and addiction to the medium itself.” even”.

Basically, research only shows associations, which means heavy internet use doesn’t necessarily cause these problems. What worries researchers, at a minimum, is that device use is a poor substitute for activities known to be essential for health, social and physical development, including physical play and other interactions that help children learn to cope with difficult social situations.

Still, parents express a sort of desperation with their options. Sticking to prepandemic rules not only seems impractical, it can seem downright nasty to keep children from a major source of socialization.

“So I take it off and what do they do?” A puzzle? Learn to sew? Knit? I don’t know what the expectations are, ”said Paraskevi Briasouli, a business writer who is raising four children – ages 8, 6, 3 and 1 – with her husband in a two-bedroom apartment in Manhattan. Device time replaced sports on weekday afternoons and jumped 70% on weekends, she said.