Screen Time
It can be a struggle for people of all ages to step away from screens, and limits on
screen time can be a frequent source of conflict between parents and their children.
Why is it so hard for us to step away from screens? It boils down to neurotransmitters,
especially dopamine.
Dopamine is commonly thought of as a reward neurotransmitter. Our dopamine levels in
our brains go up whenever something causes us pleasure. This could be anything from
having a good night’s sleep to eating a tasty dessert to getting a good grade on a test.
Dopamine levels are also raised when we use screens. This is especially the case for
social media and video games, which have been created to trigger frequent dopamine
spikes. Someone liked your post on Instagram? Dopamine levels rise. You got a new
high score in a video game? Dopamine levels rise. With frequent stimulation of
dopamine like this, the little things that lead to increases in dopamine just don’t feel as
good. For example, imagine your friend thanks you verbally every time you do them a
favor. One day, your friend decides verbal thanks isn’t enough, so they give you a gift to
thank you for doing them a favor. That gift is probably going to lead to higher dopamine
levels than the verbal thanks, so now receiving a verbal thanks doesn’t feel as
satisfying.
In the past decade, the media has begun to report that executives in Silicon Valley won’t
allow their children to use screens, or at least substantially limit how frequently they
allow screen use. These are the people who are most aware of the ways they get
customers to use their products more and more, and it has led them to be concerned
about the way these tactics will affect their own children. Becoming dependent on
screens can affect mental health, as screen use, and social media in particular, has
contributed to rising rates of anxiety and depression in children and adolescents. A
warning about the effects of social media on children and adolescent mental was
released by the Surgeon General in May of 2023.
But expecting people of al ages to stop using screens complete is not only
unreasonable, but it’s potentially impossible. Many people require the use of screens for
work or school. The only option is to set reasonable limits that reduce the risks to
mental health. The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP)
has provided the following age-based guidelines for screen use:
Under 18 months of age: screen use should only be for video chatting with an
adult such as speaking to a grandparent who lives out of town
18 to 24 months of age: screen use limited to watching educational programming
with a caregiver
Ages 2-5: non-educational screen time should be limited to 1 hour on weekdays
and 3 hours per day on weekends
Ages 6+: Encourage healthy habits and limit screen-based activities
AACAP also recommends the following: not using screens during family meals and
outings; learning about parental controls; not using screens to calm children or serve as
a babysitter; and not using screens 30-60 minutes prior to bedtime. It should be noted
that these are all guidelines, and further research is needed in this area. What is
recommended also needs to be balanced with what is reasonable, especially as
circumstances vary substantially between families.
Another area of difficulty is earning buy-in from children and adolescents about reducing
screen time. This is made more difficult by years of getting hits of dopamine from using
screens and from wanting to connect with their peers through the use of screens. An
NPR article from June of 2023 provided the following recommendations for weaning
children and teens off dopamine:
Wait 5 minutes before giving in to the urge to engage in a dopamine-triggering
activity.
Find activities that release some dopamine but not excessive amounts. Do this
by noticing how the child feels after stopping the activity. They should feel better
after it ends, not more distressed.
Create environments in the home where screens are not allowed and schedule
times when screens are or are not allowed.
Find content on screens that is not excessively stimulating.
This will be a lifelong process of balancing what is reasonable with what is
recommended, so patience with everyone involved will be key!
Links for More Information
CBS News; Why many Silicon Valley parents are curbing their kids tech time:
NBC News: Social media is driving teen mental health crisis, surgeon general warns
The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry’s page about screen use
Written by Dr. Rebecca Suffness.
Dr. Suffness is a licensed psychologist at Austin Anxiety and OCD Specialists. She specializes in working with children, teens, and young adults experiencing anxiety, and OCD. If you are interested in learning more about how to effectively navigate screen time or if you would like to schedule a therapy appointment with Dr. Suffness please contact us at hello@austinanxiety.com or 512-246-7225.