Children

and Technology

Technology is becoming increasingly prevalent and accessible in our society from smartphones,
tablets, home computers and television. In 2012, 96% of Australian households with children
<15 had Internet access at home, and 90% of children (5-14) accessed the internet the precious
year (ABS 2014). Although this article will focus on primarily on the negative impacts of
technology on children, it is also important to remember the variety of positive roles in
education, social networking and entertainment.

What is screen time?
It refers to the amount of time your child spends facing electronic media or technological
devices with screens (i.e. television, phones, tablets.)

Health Implications
Screen time is the most common sedentary behaviour in young children, and there are a variety
of studies showing the positive association to childhood obesity. Explanations include increase
in screen time, leading to decreased time spent in active pursuits. The Department of Health
Australia has shown a variety of negative associations with long screen time use including a
decrease in exercise time, weight, growth and diet implications, poorer social and decision
making skills and language/memory. They also warn that the media use habits developed in
childhood have been seen to continue onwards to adulthood.

Other health implications also include impact on sleep: Strong and consistent significant
association between bedtime media use 1) inadequate sleep quantity, 2) poor sleep quality,
and 3) excessive daytime sleepiness. Sleep is essential to your child’s physical and psychological
development and growth.

Australian Guidelines on Screen Time

The Australian guidelines, developed using the American Association of Pediatrics recommends:
• Children < 2 years: no screen time
• Children 2-5 years: 1 hour or less everyday
• Children 5-18: less than 2 hours/day for entertainment (excluding educational purposes)









What you can do:

■ Avoid using media to calm your child
– can lead to inability of children to develop their own emotion regulation and
limit setting problems
– avoiding use of technology as a “digital babysitter” or “digital pacifier”
– avoiding the ‘pass-back effect’ - parents hand their mobile device to their child to
placate or please them
■ Set Limits
– Recommend no tech for meals and 1h before bedtime
– Keep bedrooms and other parent–child playtimes media-free for both kids and
parents
– Time limits by age
■ content of use is important: look not at only how much your child is using technology,
but how they use it and what they do.


Conclusion
Technology is evolving in availabilty and type of technologies, as well as it’s societal role, which
is something to consider in the direction of future research. There should be mindful use of
media within a family, not just children as they set the expectation and example as parents.

Parents can manage children's screen time as needed in a variety of different ways, especially in
the current environment in where digital technology is well integrated in many facets of
children and adult life.

References

Australian children's screen time and participation in extracurricular activities - The

Longitudinal Study of Australian Children Annual statistical report 2015.
(2018). Data.growingupinaustralia.gov.au. Retrieved 21 March 2018, from
http://data.growingupinaustralia.gov.au/pubs/asr/2015/asr2015e.html

Australian Social Trends, Jun 2012. (2018). Abs.gov.au. Retrieved 21 March 2018, from
http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/Lookup/4102.0Main+Features30Jun+2012

Carter, B., Rees, P., Hale, L., Bhattacharjee, D., & Paradkar, M. (2016). Association Between
Portable Screen-Based Media Device Access or Use and Sleep Outcomes. JAMA
Pediatrics, 170(12), 1202. http://dx.doi.org/10.1001/jamapediatrics.2016.2341

Childhood overweight and obesity. (2018). Aihw.gov.au. Retrieved 21 March 2018, from
https://www.aihw.gov.au/getmedia/da014fb0-b424-4743-bb47-05782f21aa2b/6_6-childhood-
weight.pdf.aspx

Department of Health | Sedentary behaviour and screen-time. (2018). Health.gov.au. Retrieved

21 March 2018, from
http://www.health.gov.au/internet/publications/publishing.nsf/Content/gug-director-toc~gug-
sedentary

Technology use in Australia. (2018). Child Family Community Australia. Retrieved 21 March
2018, from https://aifs.gov.au/cfca/publications/using-technology-service-delivery-families-
children/technology-use-australia

http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/early/2016/10/19/peds.2016-2591