Back To School: Is Excessive Screen Time Helpful or Harmful to Our Kids?

Take it from a middle school teacher/social worker: tracking screen time and reflecting on tech use is important.

Unfortunately, one of the hottest hot girl/hot boy summers is coming to a close! As the first day of school pictures begin to flood our TLs, we can’t help but to bring it from City Girls to BookWorms real quick!

Back to school shopping is hitting the pockets of both parents and teachers as students are trying to keep up with social media trends- comparing what they have to what other kids are showcasing online. Electronics are the new crave: iPhones, iPods, AirPods, and tablets are some of the must-haves for kids today. 

As you know, peer influence is nothing new! But, is the hype of electronics harmful or helpful to kids today? 

At the start of a normal school day, students are asked to turn in their cellphones which are returned later at the end of the school day. Most students are “tweaking” to get to their phones to see what they’ve missed on social media, to play games or to watch YouTube videos for hours and hours at a time. 

Turns out, there’s increasing evidence that allowing kids access to iPhones, iPads and tablets at an early age may be counterproductive. Instead, it’s the children who are permitted to spend LESS screen time and more time at creative play who seem to do better at learning the creative, cognitive, and social skills necessary for success later in life.

According to Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study, MRI scans found significant differences in the brains of some children who reported using smartphones, tablets, and video games more than seven hours a day. It went on to say that, children who reported more than two hours a day of screen time got lower scores on thinking and language tests! 

Whew child, with just that little snippet of data I think parents should definitely monitor the amount of time their kids interact with technology, as it can be harmful to cognitive learning.

Y’all know we need those future entrepreneurs, surgeons and lawyers! So in this digital age, let’s be more aware of the harm we may be unknowingly placing in the palms of our kids’ hands! 

Cheers to a great school year parents and students!! Don’t forget to monitor that electronic use for a productive 2019-2020 school year!