Screen Time and Wellbeing
The amount of screen time children have is often reported in the media and we all know the amount of time seems to be on the increase. I do quiver a little when I receive my weekly ‘screen time’ notification on my own phone. Is my daily average up or down from last week? This is also a reality at school and in our own homes. I consider myself in the ‘heartland’ of device use at home with my own children who are in Years 5, 9 and 10. How many times have you recently said “Get off your iPad”, “Put your phone away”, “Is your device on charge?”?
Digital technology is commonplace in young people's everyday lives, nonetheless this causes concern for educators and parents. This is an understandable concern given increasing media and policy debate on the topic, and a lack of evidence-based research or strategies. Teachers and parents are questioning the effect that technology can have on students' mental health and wellbeing, now more than ever as social media has its positives and negatives.
The amount of time that students are spending in front of screens has undoubtedly increased in the past decade. Long gone are the days where students would write essays by hand or gather research materials from hardcover books. More and more, students now have access to devices like personal computers, mobile phones and tablets in the classroom as well as at home. While these technologies have tremendous benefits for students' learning and social development, they have also presented new challenges for our teachers and schools in general.
Yet, this increased interconnectedness in the online world has meant that schoolyard comments and bullying behaviours no longer stop when the home bell rings. The bullying now takes place online, after hours. According to Australia’s eSafety Commissioner – Julie Grant, one in five children have experienced some form of cyberbullying (Karp, 2018).
Within both the Junior and Senior School there is dedicated time for the ongoing learning about responsible device use and the positives and negatives of social media. Recently, all College students participated in activities around ‘Safer Internet Day’ early this term and last Friday we focussed on ‘National Day of Action against Bullying and Violence’.
As teachers and parents, we are in a position to ensure our students and children learn how to use digital technologies responsibly, so as to support their overall wellbeing. The very big question is, how?
There are a number of practical strategies which can be implemented with immediate results to keep children safe online and when using particular social media platforms. It is important to remind them regularly:
- Share only as much personal information as necessary – for example, it’s not compulsory to enter your year of birth, mobile number, email address or city on all online forms or social media platforms.
- Keep privacy settings up to date on social media sites, so your child’s profile isn’t publicly available.
- Keep passwords private – do not tell anyone!
- Use the screen time function within the device settings to set limits.
- Check the location settings and services on smartphones, tablets and apps. You can usually do this by going into Settings or checking the instructions for the device or app. Turn off the location services your child doesn’t need.
Technology is an inevitable part of our modern lives and leading into both Easter and the Term 1 holiday period it is very important we continue to monitor our own children’s device use. These practical strategies above will hopefully assist you in keeping your children safe over the upcoming holiday period.
We can’t protect our young people from all the pitfalls of technology 24/7, but we can work hard to make sure they understand the dangers and know how to remain safe in their connected world.
Simon Edgar
Head of Junior School
