The Parkview Youth Well-being team created a series of healthy habits, simple to apply to everyday life. In this video, Michele Schnelker, youth well-being coach, explains the value of minimizing our dates with devices.
We want you to aim for two hours or less of recreational screen time. What is recreational screen time? It’s the fun screen time like video games, social media and streaming of any kind. Using a laptop, tablet or any other gaming device is also included in fun screen time.
Schoolwork, however, is not included in those two hours of screen time. So you don't get to tell your teacher or your adults at home that you can't do your schoolwork because you've had too much screen time.
Why does it matter?
Did you know that the blue light from our screens tells our brain it is time to stay awake? If we are on our screen before bed, the blue light can affect the quality of our sleep and even push back our bedtime. This can make it harder for us to get up in the morning, we might be cranky throughout the day and it could even make it hard for us to focus at school.
Screen time can also negatively affect us in many other ways, such as impacting our mental health, like comparison, depression and less time connecting with people in real life. It can make it tougher to manage emotions that are already hard to deal with. And sitting for a long period of time can lead to poor posture and not moving our bodies.
What could we do instead of spending time on our screens?
We can move our bodies. Too much screen time puts strain on our eyeballs, and it may lead to mindless eating or eating beyond a comfortable feeling of fullness.
Social media can be a great way to talk with friends, however, we do want to be mindful of the amount of time we spend on our device. Most phones and apps can track your screen time to show you what your daily average is.
Can you share this healthy habit with an adult at home? We encourage you to work with them to come up with a screen time plan that helps support two hours or less of recreational screen time.
See the full Healthy Habits playlist.
