News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
A new study shows screen time causing more teenagers to develop depression and anxiety.
Omni Community Health Cookeville and Lebanon Facility Director Selena Stewart said the problem is not the device itself but the kind of content that can be accessed on the device through social media. Stewart said it is a cause for concern amongst parents as teens nowadays are spending an excessive amount of time on their phones.
“The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends even for teenagers that they only get two hours of media a day,” Stewart said. “And they are consuming more like eight and nine hours a day and sometimes even more.”
Stewart said excessive screen time can cause depression and anxiety and ultimately leads to various problems like struggling to sleep, impacting their grades at school, and feeling more isolated even though they are constantly on social media. Stewart said signs that a teen has anxiety or is depressed are isolation, mood shifts, and body image issues.
Stewart said it is crucial to detect those signs as many teens will not admit their struggles to family members. Stewart said the best way to help a teen if signs are detected is to set an example.
“If you notice that you are kind of constantly on your phone they are kind of picking up on that as well,” Stewart said. “So having those conversations and really talking to them about what is going on in their life, their friendships and kind of encouraging them to get out and do things in the community with family and friends.”
The Centers For Disease Control released the study. Stewart said it can be challenging for a parent to limit screen time for their teenager. Stewart said if they are being rebellious about giving up screen time then extra assistance may be needed.
“If they are just completely unapproachable about it then there may be more digging that needs to happen and they may need more assistance,” Stewart said. “Even talking with their pediatrician or doctor and kind of like I think it is time to push the issue.”
Stewart said as a parent if you are concerned and the child is pushing back just remember that you are still the parent and that you are doing this out of love and not doing it to punish them. Stewart said she also recommends reaching out to the school counselor who can provide additional assistance.
Stewart said the country saw a giant increase in mobile device usage in 2016 and just now we are seeing the full effects of excessive screen time.
“I think sometimes it takes a while for the data to come through and then to see these negative impacts and to actually kind of give more matter-of-fact hey this is why we are making these recommendations and here are the negative effects of this type of access to screen time and those types of things.”
