INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — With all the smartphones, tablets, computers and video games around, it’s easy to forget that there is life beyond a screen. It’s Screen-Free Week, a time to rediscover some of the joys of being unplugged.
Josh Golin, executive director of the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood, said turning off screens can shift the focus to more engaging activities, which can improve well-being and relationships.
“We want to get people to stop looking at those screens and start looking at each other,” he said, “because we have so much to offer each other.”
While the idea of having their children go screen-free might send parents into a panic, Golin said they might be surprised with the result.
“Kids are much more imaginative at coming up with activities than we give them credit for these days,” he said. “So if we can start to break that habit – as the second we’re bored we reach for the tablet or we turn on the video-game system – we’d be amazed at the ways that kids can entertain themselves.”
Excessive use of screens is linked to attention problems, poor school performance, sleep problems and emotional difficulties among children. Because children are always watching their parents, Golin said, it’s important that good habits are practiced in the home.
“So that means when we’re having conversations, we’re not distracted looking at our phones,” he said. “That means we’re not bringing our devices to the dining room table. We’re absolutely not glancing at our phones when we’re on the road because our children will be driving someday and we don’t want to be modeling that behavior as well.”
Experts discourage screen time for children younger than age 2, and for other children no more than two hours a day of educational programming. But research shows that 8- to 18-year-olds spend about seven hours using screen media every day.
