Screen Time: Parental Control for Your Child’s Internet Use

Too much time online can hurt sleep, grades, and relationships. Learn here about screen time parental control and the internet’s possible effect on your child.

If there’s a tween or teenager in your household, the reports of them spending more time online won’t surprise you. One research team found that 12- to13-year-olds doubled their non-school related screen time to 7.7 hours a day in May 2020, mostly watching shows, compared to 3.8 hours a day before the pandemic lockdowns.

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Parents are worried

After watching movies, videos, and television, the next most popular activity was gaming — not interacting with peers, as parents might have thought.

Other research found that teens living in less well-off households spent nearly 9.5 hours a day on screen media, while those in richer homes spent just over 7 hours (still a huge amount of time).

Parents often underestimate how much time their children are glued to a phone, computer, or TV. But many are worried.

In a 2020 survey just before the pandemic lockdowns, parents told the Pew Research Center that new technology has made parenting harder than it was 20 years ago. More than 70 percent of parents with children ages 5 to 11 said they are somewhat or very concerned that their child was getting too much screentime.

What about tweens and teens?

In a 2018 Pew survey of 13- to17-year-olds, 45 percent said they are online “almost constantly.” About a third say that social media has had a “mostly positive” effect on their lives, mainly because it helps them connect with friends and family. But a quarter say the effect is mostly negative, with bullying, rumors, and lack of in-person contact as their main concerns.

Depression and screen time

Because teen depression and suicidal behavior has risen along with the rise of the internet and social media, parents and researchers have wondered if the two are connected. According to a 2020 overview of research around the world, most studies find that teens who spend more time on social media are more likely to be depressed — although it’s not clear whether time online is a cause. For example, one study found that the more often teens browsed Instagram, the photo-posting site, the more likely they were to be depressed six months later. They may have retreated to Instagram, however, as other problems in their lives began.

More than 15 percent of adolescents worldwide have a problem with excessive internet use, according to German researchers at the University of Bamberg. The team concluded that youngsters who went online primarily to socialize were at low risk for becoming compulsive internet users. Teens at high risk were more likely to show signs of other issues.  

“I do a lot of assessments for kids having problems in school, and I think they are many times more likely to be ‘sucked in’ to going overboard with the internet, especially video games,” said psychologist Julie F. Pace, PhD, an assistant professor in Emory University’s Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences.

“From my personal clinical experience, the middle school years are a particularly tough time,” she added. “So, if youngsters are trying to escape the painful reality of those years, some turn to internet activities and behaviors that may be problematic — like missing sleep to be online and not getting their homework done.”

Sleep deprivation and the internet

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, seven of 10 high school students reported missing sleep on school nights (8 hours is the goal). The number of hours U.S. teenagers sleep per night has decreased significantly since the internet and social media arrived on the scene and changed our lives. Katherine W. Keyes, PhD, professor of epidemiology at the Columbia Mailman School of Public Health, notes that lack of sleep can make students sleepy in the daytime and lead to academic problems.

ADHD and the internet

Children with attention problems are most vulnerable. “If a youngster has attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, especially, they can crave stimulation and the immediate gratification they get from video games,” Pace said

There is a debate about whether obsessive online gaming can be considered a disorder or addiction. Psychiatrist Perry Renshaw, MD, PhD, of the University of Utah, has been studying heavy gaming for decades. He notes that heavy gamers are more likely to have attention defecit hyperactivity disorder and depression, and treating either condition tends to make them cut back on gaming. Teen boys seem to be more likely than girls to spend hours on end playing video games. One large study found that teens who are heavy users of digital devices are twice as likely as infrequent users to show ADHD symptoms in the future.

After first eliminating any students who already showed symptoms of ADHD, the team tracked nearly 2,600 teenagers in public schools in Los Angeles County for two years.  

“This study raises concern whether the proliferation of high-performance digital media technologies may be putting a new generation of youth at risk for ADHD,” said study co-author Adam Leventhal, PhD, professor of preventive medicine and psychology at the University of Southern California.

Of course, internet activities and even hours spent playing video games aren’t all bad, Pace emphasized. “Some youngsters who are socially shy have made friends with gaming. And a boy who doesn’t know how to play computer games can have a harder time connecting with peers than a kid who does,” she said. “As with all things, it’s a question of moderation and balance.”

Signs of problem internet use

What are the warning signs that your teen’s internet usage has become unhealthy?

“If it’s causing problems with social relations, grades are going down, or if kids seem anxious and irritable when they are not able to play video games, that’s addictive-type behavior and a concern,” Pace said.

“It’s a good idea to get professional help if these problems have been going on for a while, especially if grades are falling or the teen seems withdrawn and not involved with peers, which can be signs of depression.”

Screen time parental control

The best strategy for parents to help youngsters use the internet in a healthy way is to set ground rules from an early age. “I’m passionate about starting early. It is far easier to set limits at the beginning in young childhood than to try to set limits later,” Pace said.

She advises following the America Academy of Pediatricians guidelines for media and internet exposure, which include limiting the number of hours children and teens are exposed to media, keeping televisions, computers, and video games out of their bedrooms, and encouraging outdoor play, reading, hobbies, and using their imaginations.  

What if you didn’t set limits on internet use early on and are now struggling to curtail a teen’s late-night online activities?

“You have to sit down and have the conversation with your teen about why it is important to limit the internet. Don’t allow a computer or mobile devices in the bedroom at night. Listen and collaborate with your kid, but stick to the limits you set,” Pace answered. “And remember that teens can be covert. You may have to lock up a keyboard, a laptop, or phone at night.”

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