Tackling problematic screen use by children

A proposal to tackle problematic screen and phone use by children has been announced by NSW Opposition Leader Chris Minns.

Screen and phone dependence among Australians in general is on the rise, with a recent Monash University study suggesting that 99.2% of users fear not having their phone with them. For more than 10%, that fear is considered severe and linked to dangerous use.

There is concern that the majority of Australian children are heading in the same direction, with 77–83% of pre-schoolers and 85% of children aged five to 12 already spending more than the recommended time on screens.

If elected, the NSW Labor Party has committed to a $2.5 million research fund to expand the understanding and impact of excessive screen, phone and gaming use on young people’s health, wellbeing and learning.

The Centre for Digital Wellbeing has welcomed the announcement by the NSW Opposition.

“The announcement to fund research into problematic screen use comes at a really important time. Phone, screen and gaming time are on the rise among children in Australia, yet we don’t fully know the potential impacts,” Carla Wilshire said.

Early research is already hinting at a range of health and developmental issues among children. Problematic device usage has been associated with negative impacts in areas such as weight, motor and cognitive development, and social and psychological wellbeing.

Similarly, problematic video gaming behaviours can severely impact children and young people. Currently, 1–3% of people worldwide are gaming excessively and are impacted by internet gaming disorder. Studies have associated internet gaming disorder with lower psychosocial wellbeing and impaired functioning.

The time children spent on their phones, playing games and watching TV has been reported by parents as their top health concern. Anecdotally, parents have been struggling to navigate device usage and gaming in the home and are in need of advice on how to encourage healthy habits.

“It is really important to invest in supporting children and their parents now to prevent this spiralling into a life-long issue,” Wilshire said.

“This commitment to funding will mean we can better understand the issues related to problematic screen use and therefore develop targeted policy solutions to help the children, families and communities that are most affected.”

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