Running head: CHILDRENS SCREEN TIME 1

Childrens Screen Time

Megan Kalina

Western Oregon University

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Abstract

This paper discusses the effects of screen time on children; specifically focusing

on the amount of screen time, creating healthful boundaries, and implementing

screen time into the classroom. Children are exposed to multiple technologies

with a screen and primarily use the devices for entertainment purposes.

However, this paper looks to differentiate between leisure screen time and

academic screen time. The outcome is to educate parents while creating a

healthy balance at home. Then, educators can use the benefits of the screen in

their classroom without pushing the Academy of Pediatrics screen time

recommendation of two hours per day (2016).

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Introduction

Media usage also known as screen time is inherently becoming a fixture in the

lives of children. Screen time predominantly takes place outside of school time in

the form of television viewing, video game playing, and cell phone usage

(Kaneshiro, 2015). The number of students that have access to a mobile device

is 97%. Ninety-nine percent of families living in America have at least one

television in their house now (A.C. Nielsen Co.). Students are spending an

upwards of six hours per day on screens; this is a conservative number. The

research on the ill effects of screen usage is abundant with little differentiation

between leisure screen time and academic screen time. For the purpose of this

paper, there will be a distinct differentiation between screen time used in the

classroom for academic purposes and screen time used during a childs leisure

time.

Leisure screen time has no limits and no purpose; the student uses the

screen to relax and socialize. No critical thinking skills are used and the student

has no purpose when pursuing this type of screen time. Academic screen time

will be defined as screen time that has a direct purpose with a specific learning

objective stated. The student is using the technology to execute a plan and is

well versed in in the limits and bounds of the technology in use.

This paper focuses on childrens screen time usage and examines the

effects on children and clearly defines academic screen time and its benefits.

Furthermore, this paper will discuss how parents influence their childs leisure

screen time and how parents and educators can work together to create a
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healthy balance. Screen time is not the culprit; the issue lies within the parenting

and lack of clear boundaries. Academic screen time reaps benefits such as

collaboration and cultural exposure that are not replicable in a face-to-face

setting.

Health

Students health is a rising concern as children from the United States are less

active and consume more prepackaged food than their peers from other

countries. According to the CDC, 17% of children are considered obese. This

number continues to rise every year (Ogden, Carroll, Kit & Flegal, 2012). Many

individuals including the Center for Disease Control and the American Academy

of Pediatrics state this is from the high number of hours spent on a screen.

Additionally, those that are against incorporating screen time into the

classroom also state that it is not only physical health that screen time effects,

but also mental health. Students that are exposed to excessive screen time,

which is defined by the American Academy of Pediatrics as more than two hours

per day, are more prone to sleep disturbances (2016). These sleep disturbances

then transfer over to poor academic performance. Unplugging from screen time

in the evening is the clear solution, however many students rely on these devices

for alarms, homework, and keeping in contact with parents. Clearly, this can turn

into a vicious cycle.

While the health arguments are a major concern, educators can remedy

the ill effects on healthy by incorporating healthy habits into their classrooms.
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Teachers can rectify the effects of obesity caused from screen time, by providing

at least 40 minutes of activity. (Hernndez-lvarez, Valero-Berna, & Mancera-

Soto, 2015). Due to budget cuts as well as replacing physical education time with

more core academic time, many students do not receive physical education on a

daily basis. However, teachers can implement their own physical activity by

providing frequent outside breaks, leading games at recess, and promoting after

school sports. The sleep disturbance remedy will be addressed in the next

section.

Parenting Choices

Teachers receive the brunt for the majority of the issues students encounter.

Many teachers fear implementing screen time in the classroom due to the

negative backlash from stakeholders. This is not to say all parents do not take

responsibility for childs technology usage, but the home has been identified

again and again as the main influence on screen time (Smith, Grunseit, Hardy,

King, Wolfenden, & Milat, 2010). Children typically value what their parents value

(Schoeppe, Vandelanotte, Bere, Lien, Verloigne, M., Kovcs & Van Lippevelde,

2017). The Learning Habit discusses parents creating an electronic contract that

provides boundaries for their child that is also applicable to themselves, which

fosters a healthy view of screen time that can develop an environment of

electronic balance (Pressman, Jackson, & Pressman, 2014).

Teachers need to strive to create a strong relationship with their students

parents as well as providing an open line of communication. Both teachers and

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parents want students to be successful and the old saying of it takes a village is

very applicable in this situation. Providing parents with education on creating a

healthy media environment in their home as well as educating them on the

benefits of screen time in the classroom can clear up a lot of misconceptions.

Teachers can accomplish this by sending out newsletters, creating a class

website, or having open houses where students can show their parents their

accomplishments and the technologies used to complete the artifact.

Classroom Setting

The remainder of this paper will focus on the use of screen time within the

classroom. The majority is familiar with leisure screen time, and this paper is

meant to inform educators on the possibilities within their own classroom. There

are two major sides in terms of screen time in the classroom with very little

middle ground. Supporters of screen time wish to rely heavily on the screen to

educate the child through personalized learning and those that disagree believe

that technology is creating the dumbest generation. However, with experience as

an educator and educational technology, the ideal environment includes

academic screen time, but in moderation.

For example, when technology implementation is mentioned as being

used as a means of instruction, the majority of the population assumes this

means watching a movie or playing games (Klaus, 2010). While there is some

gaming involved which can provide students with a safe environment and

personalized learning (Gee, 2008); the of screen time for academic purposes
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stretches much further than video gaming. Gee is a major proponent of using

video games in the classroom and proposes that video gaming allows students to

make mistakes in a safe environment, which supports the constructivist theory by

Jean Piaget that supports students interacting with their environment and

learning through experiences. With the use of video games, educational video

games allow students to simulate an experience with little to no real world

repercussions. A student is allowed to attempt and fail in video games thus

creating many valuable experiences that develop students schemas.

In addition to a learning tool, screen time can be used as a tool for

collaboration. Clay Shirky exclaims that technology provides the opportunity to

create, communicate, and collaborate in a more effective manner. In addition to

collaboration being more effective, each of us providing small pieces contributes

overall to create a better world (Shirky, 2013). The internet has allowed students

to access experts from all over the world, as well as imparting their knowledge

with others adding to a vast base of information. The immediate access we have

to information and the ability to communicate with an expert that may live in

another country offers students the ability to learn beyond their physical

environment.

However, not all individuals see the possibilities that online collaboration

provides. Those that refute the benefits of collaborating online say that there is

an overload of information that removes the need for critical thinking skills due to

the fact that information is instantly available. Neil Postman states in his book

Amusing Ourselves to Death that our reliance on television as an accurate

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source of information has turned individuals into passive obtainers of information

as opposed to active knowledge seekers. Postman attacks the television by

stating, Americans are the most entertained and the least well-informed

(p.106). Access to the news, reality shows, and movies are at the touch of the

finger. Postman insists that we are too trusting of what is delivered to us without

questioning the information we are being fed. While this book is dated and was

written prior to the prevalence of the computer, it is clear that the word screen

time and education will never be used in the same sentence in a positive

manner.

Postman makes a valid argument that we have become passive and lack

critical thinking skills. Mark Bauerlein agrees and the title of his book says a lot

without ever moving past the cover: The Dumbest Generation Ever. While this is

a valid argument, I insist that critical thinking skills are needed more now than

ever. Due to the influx of information available to students, teachers must

emphasize the importance of how to evaluate sources and prove through

multiple evaluations that the information found is accurate. It is not the

information that will doom us, it is how we teach our children to handle the

information they find that will be the true test of society.

Conclusion

From the discussions in this paper, it is clear that balance and moderation is key

as technology is exponentially growing and will be a critical component of

students daily lives (Smahel, Wright, & Cernikova, 2015). Since screen time in
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children is a relatively new issue, parents and teachers do not have previous

generations to reflect on. Harnessing media as a teaching tool is critical and

provides positive effects on students while preparing them for their future. Screen

time boasts possibilities in the classroom that have yet to be explored

comprehensively. However, what is evident is that leisure screen time needs to

be managed in children to assure children stay both mentally and physically

healthy. A conversation needs to take place amongst educators and parents to

strike a healthful balance of both academic and leisure screen time. The time to

have this conversation is not in the future, but now.

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References

American Academy of Pediatrics. 2016.

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Hernndez-lvarez, E. D., Valero-Bernal, M. V., & Mancera-Soto, E. M. (2015).

Efficacy of the prescription of physical activity in the obese child

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Kaneshiro, N. (2015) Screen Time and Children. Retrieved from

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Klaus, J. (2010). Negative effects of using technology in today's classroom.

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