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Is screen time good or bad? It’s not that simple

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Re: Is screen time good or bad? It’s not that simple

#21

Post by harryf »

The correct answer is we don’t know. In other words we rolled out a technology and now we’re conducting a giant science experiment on ourselves where it’s possible that the consequences are extremely harmful, such as producing a generation that’s going to suffer from all kinds of mental and physical issues through lack of exercise, insomnia and poor social skills. That compounded by a medical industry that likes to throw drugs at symptoms rather than solve the underlying causes.

It could go the other way of course and lead to a generation that’s smarter and more capable than ever before, thanks to being exposed to far more collective knowledge and wisdom than any before them.

Probably it will be some of both but to put it in context I think it’s always good to remember radium water (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radithor) as a cautionary tale of how blind faith in progress and technology can go wrong.

Re: Is screen time good or bad? It’s not that simple

#22

Post by jesperlang »

Not sure this analogy works but here goes...

Could you see it as what the car industry did for transportation, the tech industry is doing for our mental infrastructure? Setting up a private car infrastructure was a gigantic experiment with unforeseen (or were they really?) consequences to pollution, noise, the way cities were built/grew and so on. The initial idea was not much criticized, we have only been fine tuning the technology (safer cars, electric cars, better roads, etc). And today we are doing the same experiment but with our minds. And it's not going to change, we're just going to fine tune it. When your products are infrastructure you are safe. So screen/software makers don't really care about the debate of screen time. It's a debate about how much time and what you do on your screen and not so much how we should live our lives (we are already living a lot of our lives through screens!).

Re: Is screen time good or bad? It’s not that simple

#23

Post by Double_a_92 »

p1necone wrote: post #14
alkibiades wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

but even then excessive screen time is still bad because of what it precludes the kid from doing instead. like socializing or exercise. but that’s in the extreme case and would also apply to excessive anything, like reading

Likewise excessive socializing or exercise would preclude kids from reading or screen time. I don't see your point.

I guess their point was to balance the times. I.e. Yes, excessive socializing would also be bad if you start neglecting everything else.

Re: Is screen time good or bad? It’s not that simple

#24

Post by B-Con »

Sendotsh wrote: post #7

"Screen time" != "Screen time". That's my main problem with all this "screen time is bad" stuff. There's a huge difference between a kid spending 2 hours playing Flappy Bird and spending 2 hours playing with an educational app, or drawing/painting in an app, or watching tutorials on YouTube. It's like saying "time at the park is bad for you" because some kids go to the park to smoke cigarettes and drink alcohol. Scre…

I hate the phrase "screen time". Why does the fact that there's a screen involved matter so much? Many "screen time" activities are more closely related to non-"screen time" activities than to other "screen time" activities.

If the kids is typing a report instead of handwriting it, or reading an ebook instead of a physical one, why does that count as "screen time" along with flappy bird?

Re: Is screen time good or bad? It’s not that simple

#25

Post by dwd »

xupybd wrote: post #2

Well I think this depends on what you're measuring as the impact of screen time. There are some negative effects of screen time that are not in doubt. It leads to a sedentary life style, this has negative impacts on fitness and health. It also isn't great for your eyes to maintain the same focal distance for long periods of time.

Our eyes are constantly moving and refocusing (microsaccades), you never literally stare at the one spot. The problem with too much screen time is you blink less resulting in dry eyes.

Re: Is screen time good or bad? It’s not that simple

#26

Post by TeMPOraL »

Double_a_92 wrote: post #23
p1necone wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Likewise excessive socializing or exercise would preclude kids from reading or screen time. I don't see your point.

I guess their point was to balance the times. I.e. Yes, excessive socializing would also be bad if you start neglecting everything else.

Excessive socializing is the default, though - if kids have nothing better to do, they "hang out".

Re: Is screen time good or bad? It’s not that simple

#27

Post by TeMPOraL »

Apocryphon wrote: post #19
baddox wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have certainly had the same experience with a book.

Yeah but how long does it take to read a book? Even if someone was binging on War and Peace, or The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, one is addicted only for a few weeks or months at most- the internet is infinite.

So is the bookstore.

Re: Is screen time good or bad? It’s not that simple

#28

Post by Nition »

p1necone wrote: post #14
alkibiades wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

but even then excessive screen time is still bad because of what it precludes the kid from doing instead. like socializing or exercise. but that’s in the extreme case and would also apply to excessive anything, like reading

Likewise excessive socializing or exercise would preclude kids from reading or screen time. I don't see your point.

The clear solution is to jog on the spot, chatting with your friends while watching TV with subtitles on. The ultimate activity.

Re: Is screen time good or bad? It’s not that simple

#29

Post by Pimpus »

Sendotsh wrote: post #7

"Screen time" != "Screen time". That's my main problem with all this "screen time is bad" stuff. There's a huge difference between a kid spending 2 hours playing Flappy Bird and spending 2 hours playing with an educational app, or drawing/painting in an app, or watching tutorials on YouTube. It's like saying "time at the park is bad for you" because some kids go to the park to smoke cigarettes and drink alcohol. Scre…

It's hard to generalize too much about screen time. It is almost universally bad, especially for kids, and should be kept to a minimum. Gadgets nowadays provide an unlimited stream of stimulation, novelty, and dopamine hits. No child can resist that, which is why the "lesser evils" like education apps are still "gamified" to have any chance of keeping a kid's attention. The result is that kids from an early age are growing up addicted to dopamine and the internet. It's not much different from fat kids already being addicted to junk food from an early age, it's just not as visible -- and both situations will be very difficult to change during the individual's life.

Really, you just have to spend some time with the current generation of children to see how disastrous technology has been. Their brain chemistry depends on constant outside stimulation, and anything else is boring.

Also, if you think you can effectively police what your kids do and see on the internet, you are sorely mistaken.

Re: Is screen time good or bad? It’s not that simple

#30

Post by Nition »

Apocryphon wrote: post #19
baddox wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have certainly had the same experience with a book.

Yeah but how long does it take to read a book? Even if someone was binging on War and Peace, or The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, one is addicted only for a few weeks or months at most- the internet is infinite.

Not really arguing either way here but I don't think the analogy really holds up. There are many books just like there are many websites.
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