Children under the age of two should not be exposed to screens and scrolling time for teens ought to be limited to less than three hours a day, Sweden’s public health authority, Folkhälsomyndigheten, has said.
The health authority’s recommendations coincided with the start of the new school year, advising parents and carers to limit how long kids stay glued to their pocket screens. According to the Nordic nations’ public health authorities, screen time often robs kids of physical activity and increases the likelihood that they’ll be exposed to inappropriate content.
“Surveys show that young people have both positive and negative experiences with digital media. Many of them also feel concerned about how they are affected and want to change their habits, which we hope to help with through the recommendations,” Helena Frielingsdorf, doctor and investigator at Folkhälsomyndigheten, said.
Sweden recommends following basic digital hygiene guidelines, such as not using screens before bedtime and leaving smartphones and tablets outside the bedroom altogether. Parents are advised to think of digital media as something children dedicate their time to instead of sleeping, exercising, building relationships, or doing schoolwork.
“A rule of thumb is that young children 2–5 years old use a screen for a maximum of one hour per day, children 6–12 years a maximum of 1–2 hours, and children 13–18 years a maximum of 2–3 hours,” the health authority said.
Meanwhile, children under the age of two should avoid screens at all. The authorities note that parents themselves should be aware that kids tend to imitate behaviors, which means that parents should avoid being duplicitous and set an example by not spending too much time in front of screens, too.
In June, Folkhälsomyndigheten published a study detailing how screens affect children, concluding that excessive screen time in children and young adults leads to poor sleep quality, depression, and dissatisfaction with one’s own body. A survey showed that children and young adults themselves agreed their sleep less and neglected relationships over screen time.
Nearly two decades of smartphone use have provided health authorities with ample evidence that screen time has adverse effects on children and young adults. As a result, more and more schools worldwide are opting to ban smartphone use during lessons.
At least 13 states have passed laws or enacted policies that ban or restrict students’ use of cell phones in schools. Similar measures are being taken in Canada, Ontario, and Europe. Hundreds of schools in Belgium, the UK, France, Norway, and the Netherlands have already implemented smartphone bans or are conducting trials.
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