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<\/a><\/p>\nSome statistics that stood out for me here are that only 8% of students in our community are meeting the recommended screen time limits, under 2 hours a day. Second, is the average recreational<\/em> screen time among youth in our community is a whopping 5.6 hours\/day.\u00a0 The question that came up for me is what are the effects of this screen use on our children.<\/p>\n Positive Effects<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n First, and often less talked about, are the positive effects of screen use. During the pandemic we have become more reliant on screens for not only our jobs but kids are using them for school more frequently or to connect with friends. The positive effects of screens are significant and crucially important, especially to our children.<\/p>\n Missed Opportunities<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n Viewing screens (tv\/movies) in a group, social\/online gaming, and social media activities present us, and our children, with many positive experiences. However, while viewing screens we are also missing out on other opportunities such as physical activities. face to face interactions including connecting to family, reading, outdoor time, art activities such as drawing, or even managing boredom (an overlooked skill).<\/p>\n It is sometimes helpful to think of screen time and social media use like our diet. What are we consuming? Just like with food our digital diet can be nutritious or junk food. Having a treat is fine on occasion but we need to have a balance of experiences (food). If all we do is eat junk food we are going to start feeling terrible and our bodies are not going to be at their best. The same goes for screens. If we have a lot of screen time in a day we are can feel equally bad and our bodies will certainly not be at their best.<\/p>\n