Screen diet
Getting your digital five-a-day
Time spent online – particularly on social media – is routinely cited as the cause of any number of mental health issues affecting adolescents. Last month, NHS Digital reported a steep rise in stress, anxiety and depression among children and young women, and experts were quick to pin this on pressures created by social media.
In stark contrast, Robert Hanningan, the former director of GCHQ, has suggested that parents should be encouraging their children to spend more time online, rather than less. If not, he believes, the UK will be in danger of not having enough computer scientists to deal adequately with the threat posed by cybercrime. So who’s right? British teenagers already spend more time online than teenagers in many other countries. According to a recent OECD survey of 540,000 students aged 15 across 72 countries, British teenagers spend around three hours per school day online, compared to the international average of two hours. Furthermore, those classified as “high” internet users did less well in subjects that would help them develop good cyber skills, including science. It seems clear, therefore, that indiscriminate screen time does not achieve Hannigan’s hopes for more cyber experts.
Teenagers spend most of their time online using social media, seeking information and playing games. Each of these, if managed carefully, can help them develop socially and intellectually.
Social media can encourage them to become part of a wider community, to give and receive support from friends both near and far away. However, as Angela Barnes and Christine Laird at Eastern Washington University warn – and the NHS report confirmed – unregulated and extensive use is associated with higher rates of anxiety and depression. Furthermore, users may be vulnerable to sexual exploitation and bullying.
Playing games online has been shown to improve visuospatial skills, and co-operative games can increase a sense of belonging. However, there are dangers here, too. A recent study by Veronique Bohbot and Greg West at the University of Montreal shows that playing some video games – in particular, direct shooter games – can lead to a reduction of grey matter in the hippocampus, the region associated with long-term memory and spatial navigation.
Therefore, rather than simply trying to limit internet use, how can parents help their children use it to their advantage? Anne Longfield, children’s commissioner for England, has proposed a “digital five-a-day” in which parents encourage their offspring to connect with appropriate others; to think about ways to empathise and support friends; to use the internet as a means to becoming more creative; and to learn to self-manage and limit internet use. When they’re not online, parents are advised to encourage them to be physically active and spend time interacting directly with friends and family.