Student Wellbeing and Screen Time

Recently our Year 7-9 students completed a survey on ‘Keeping Safe at School’ to assess if our students felt safe at the College as well as if there are any areas of the College where bullying may be prevalent. The feedback was interesting in that, yes! there will be mean moments and cases of bullying which is always addressed when we are made aware, but the majority of bullying actually occurs via social media.

Social media translates to screen time, which is part and parcel of our adolescents’ everyday landscape. When young people are fixated on their screens they are in fact isolating themselves withdrawing from the relationships and social skills they so desperately need to develop healthy relationships in their adolescent years. We should all be encouraging face to face friendships, as increased friendships allow students to develop a sense of belonging. Research has noted that having a good friend to talk to develops trust and support through challenging times. Having one quality friend whom they can rely on reduces screen time and increases their sense of self-worth.

We also need to ask ourselves the question; what effect does screen time have on our students and your children? A recent longitudinal study which ran over three years with several thousand 10-18 year old’s in over 30 schools in WA was completed by The University of Western Australia.

It was noted that the amount of screen time increases as the students’ age. By 15 years of age, girls are 15 times more likely to exceed two hours screen time and almost 7 times more on social networking than boys. Boys on the other hand spent more time than girls gaming. The range of screen use is also important as web browsing and passive screen use (TV, DVD) is also be classified as screen use. Significant increases in screen time and withdrawal from family activities over a short period of time may also be an indicator that a young person’s mental health is deteriorating.

The relationship between screen use and positive and negative behavioural related outcomes are complex. Screen use of up to an hour a day can be beneficial, but more extensive may be detrimental. Getting the right balance also includes making sure screen time doesn’t interfere with sleep.

You can also help your child find a balance between screen use and other activities by working with your child on some family rules.

Rules might cover:

• where your child can use screens – for example, only in family rooms, not in the bedroom at night (including phones), or not in the car
• when your child can use screens – for example, mealtimes are free of TV, computers and phones, or no screen time until chores and homework are finished
• how your child can use screens – for example, for making a podcast or watching a TEDx talk, rather than always watching epic fail videos
• how you handle screen time for children of different ages – for example, there might be some games that your older child can play only when her younger sibling is out or has gone to bed.

Although teachers and parents need to be aware of the amount of time spent on screens and the activities in which they indulge, what is important to note, is that screen time needs to be limited. Pre-teens and adolescents should be physically active for at least one hour each day for their wellbeing.

Full copies of Professor Stephen Houghton, UWA et al research papers are available at https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs10964-018-0901-y

Helen Del Frate

Dean of Students