Screen Time and Your Teen’s Health

 

 

These days it is hard to escape screen time.  We watch TV; we play on our telephones, iPad and iPod.  Many teens have multiple video game systems.  Teens probably spend the most time on their electronics, texting friends, scrolling through Instagram.  What parent hasn’t picked their kid up at school or an after school activity and had them spend the whole ride home with their nose in their phone?  This behavior is rude and off putting, but there is an even bigger reason to put down those electronics.  Excessive screen time can actually adversely affect your teen’s health.

Too much screen time can also mean too much sitting around.  Some studies show that teens who spend the most time in front of a screen have the biggest increase in body fat over time.  All of those hours spent staring at the computer, Television or your Telephone are hours that could be spent outside or exercising.  Screen time can also rob teens of interacting in person with friends, causing social problems later in life.  It is important to make sure you continue to make plans to see friends, make time to exercise and engage in life.

Studies also show that texting can rob you of a good night’s sleep.  Many teens keep up the texting even after they have gone to bed.  It is hard not to respond to a friend when they text.  One strategy would be for you to have your teen keep their phone out of their rooms at night.  If this is met with resistance, then insist on the phone being powered off thirty minutes before they go to sleep, or at the very least putting the phone on do not disturb when it is bedtime.

Violent video games are also a problem for teens.  Scientists have found that the video games that involve war and violence can make some teens more aggressive and less sympathetic.  If your teen shows signs of being grumpy or getting angry easily, or have little patience and get in fights often, they might be playing too many violent video games.  Limit the games and encourage them to engage in more social activities.

 

 

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