ISSUES
: The Internet of Things
Chapter 1: Digital issues
20
engender more worry, in what has
been put down as merely the latest
generational complaint – “fresh
expressions of horrible and timeless
anxieties ... a tried and true form of
advanced-age self-care”.
The current generation of children in
most Western societies spends more
time in front of a screen thananybefore
it. A study back in 2010 – before even
the phenomenal rise of Apple’s iPad
and other tablets – estimated that by
the age of ten, children had access
to an average of five screens in their
lives. That number, Sigman suggests,
has almost certainly risen since.
In addition to the main family TV, for
example, many young children have
their own bedroom telly along with
portable computer game consoles
(Nintendo,
PlayStation,
Xbox),
smartphone, family computer and a
laptop and/or a tablet computer.
By the age of seven the average child
will have spent a full year of 24-hour
days watching recreational screen
media, claims Sigman. Over the
course of childhood, children spend
more time watching TV than they
spend in school.
More
screens
means
more
consumption, and more medical
problems argues Dr Sigman.
Effect on academic grades
In 2015, Cambridge University
researchers recorded the activities
of more than 800 14-year-olds and
analysed their GCSE results at 16.
Those spending an extra hour a day
on screens (TV, computer, games
console, phone) saw a fall in GCSE
results equivalent to two grades
overall.
On average, the 14-year-olds said
they spent four hours of their leisure
time each day watching TV or in front
of a computer.
An additional hour of screen-time
each day was associated with
9.3 fewer GCSE points at 16 – the
equivalent of dropping a grade in
two subjects. Two extra hours of
screen-time was associated with 18
fewer points – or dropping a grade
in four subjects. Even if pupils spent
more time studying, more time
spent watching TV or online still
harmed their results, the analysis
suggested.
Establish screen time rules
So how much screen time is healthy
for a seven-year-old, ten-year-old,
even one-, two- or three-year-
old? How much TV should a child
watch? How many hours in front of a
computer? You may be shocked too
at how much time in front of a screen
has an adverse effect on a child’s
health and development.
Parents who want to reduce their
children’s screen time need to
establish rules to reduce the risk of
later health and psychological issues.
Sigman admits that there is a lack
of clarity of advice, but points to a
number of governmental advice points
on the maximum amount of time a
child should spend in front of a screen.
In 2013, the US Department of Health
recommended that children under
two years of age should not be in front
of a screen at all, and over that age the
maximum leisure screen time should
be no more than two hours a day.
The French Government has even
banned digital terrestrial TV aimed
at all children under three, while
Australia and Canada have similar
recommendations and guidelines.
Taiwanese parents are now legally
obligated to monitor their children’s
screen
time.
The
Taiwanese
government can levy £1,000 fines on
parents of children under the age of
18 who are using electronic devices
for extended periods of times. Similar
measures exist in China and South
Korea that aim to limit screen time to
a healthy level.
The UK Government has recently
backtracked on a 2008 guidance
that children should be exposed to
technology and computers froma very
young age, but there is currently no
medical or governmental guidelines
on screen time in the UK.
Ina2012 report onmediaconsumption
in the UK Ofcom estimated that the
average three- to four-year-old spends
three hours a day in front of a screen.
This rises to four hours for ages five to
seven, 4.5 hours by ages eight to 11,
and 6.5 hours for teenagers.
The report also found that older
children are spending more time
online and are more likely to go
online alone, children aged 12–15
are spending more time online (rising
from 14.9 hours a week to 17.1 hours)
and spend as much time in a week
using the Internet as they do watching
television. Up to 43 per cent of kids are
