Screen Time Recommendations by Age

What’s the Matter With a Little Screen Time?

In 2018, a psychologist from the University of Pennsylvania wanted to find out how the time young adults spent on social media affected their happiness. She monitored a group of 143 college students for three weeks. This is what she found.

If a student was feeling depressed or isolated, limiting their social media time to half an hour per day made them feel better about themselves and less alone than the students who binged.2 In other words, too much time socializing on screens actually made students unhappier in real life.

The same holds true for kids. At least one recent study has shown that younger kids (10 and under) who hang out on Instagram and Snapchat may have trouble making friends in the real world.3 They also tend to pick up other bad digital habits, such as visiting dangerous websites and falling victim to cyber predators.

Unfortunately, poor digital hygiene is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to kids and screen time. Spending too many hours plugged into devices waiting for comments, likes, and DMs works like a drug on young minds. Research has shown that overdoing it on screens triggers ADHD-like behavior that makes it harder for children to concentrate, fall asleep, and even cope socially.4 Young screen addicts, the same studies tell us, also have higher cholesterol and blood pressure and tend toward obesity.

So the verdict is in on screen time. Too much is bad for kids psychologically, socially, and even neurologically. Now for the million-dollar question: How do you know if your child is getting too much screen time?

This Is the Right Amount of Screen Time for Kids (According to Doctors)

Reaching a healthy balance of screen time and web-free time isn’t easy — not even for adults. Before the pandemic, adult screen time had already jumped from 26 hours (2018) to 28.5 hours per week (2020).5 Then, during lockdown, we shattered that record: Screen time skyrocketed 70 percent around the globe.6

But here’s the thing: We adults may be able to cope with the consequences of internet binging, but our kids can’t. So what, if any, are the medical guidelines here?

The experts in this largely uncharted field are the doctors at the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP). Here’s what they have to say.7

6-9 years

For your “pretweens,” two hours of screen entertainment per weekday is the hard limit. (They can have a little more on the weekend.) If two hours seems high, remember that this includes TV time. We’re talking about an episode or two after school with an hour left over for playing games. In other words, more than enough tablet time.

10-14 years

Even though screen time is harder to limit for tweens and teens, the two-hour recommended weekday time limit doesn’t change.

Here’s what will change: You’re going to hear a lot of “But, dad, I’ve got a project to do.” Which, of course, may just be code for “OMG. I’m not done Snapchatting yet.”

So, as we move up into the murkier waters of preadolescence and beyond, we’ve got to double-check those excuses and limit social screen time. Tough work? Yes! But the legwork will pay off once they graduate into young adulthood.

15-18 years

Young adults are a double-edged sword when it comes to healthy screen time. On the one hand, they’re more responsible. If they grew up with screen time limits, they should be second nature now.

But, like us adults, they’ve come to terms with the fact that a huge chunk of their lives is going to be spent online — working, chilling, and socializing. (Plus, they might not be down with mom keeping tabs on their screen time anymore.)

My advice? You don’t want your child to leave the nest unable to put their smartphone down for more than 10 minutes. So until they’re 18, stand fast and set your sights on the AACAP’s two hours per day — with exceptions for verified school work.

5 Easy Fixes to Improve the Quality of Your Children’s Screen Time

So the science says two hours is the maximum dose of screen time our children should be getting daily. I’ll go out on a limb here and say that many of our kids are exceeding this limit. Should we be freaking out?

I don’t think so. But if we want to keep our kids safe in cyberspace, it’s probably time to introduce some “screen time mindfulness” into our digital hygiene routines. Here are five fairly easy adjustments we can all make today.

1. Preview Your Child’s Content and Apps

It’s common sense. Two hours of mowing down foes with your battle rifle on Halo Infinite isn’t going to have the same effect on our kids’ brains as drawing comic books on their iPads. Research bears this out. Quality, educational content with a creative component really does help kids develop critical thinking and social skills, on screens both big and small.9

When you’re approving your child’s apps, look for interactive content. It’s better on the brain than passive viewing. Finally, spending time together on screens with your kids, or “co-viewing,” promotes a whole range of healthy behaviors, including better sleep, socializing, and anger management.

2. Take Advantage of Parental Controls (for Younger Kids Especially)

If you’re new to parental controls, Google Family Link is a good place to start. Just download the Family Link app, sign in, and link your child’s Android device(s).

Family Link lets you set bedtimes and screen time limits (per device). This will by default cut down on screen binges, but it will also help kids learn to partition the day into screen time and screen-free time.

3. Encourage Digital Literacy

The parenting app Jiminy claims that it has actual data showing that 1 in 7 kids starts sexting as early as 10.10 Yikes!

If Jiminy is anywhere in the ballpark, we parents need to talk to our kids about the internet earlier than we thought — not just about sexting, but about cyberbullying, digital hygiene, and the thousands of warped sleazeballs that hang out online with the sole purpose of stalking child victims.

We also need to understand that digital literacy isn’t a one-off talk like, say, the birds and the bees. Our kids will be living a large part of their lives on screens in some shape or form. If they feel comfortable having regular catch-ups about their online adventures, they’ll be more likely to turn to us when they’re in real trouble.

4. Limit Social Media Screen Time

The jig is up for social media. They said it would connect us. Instead, it’s left us depleted, insecure, and unmoored. Kids are particularly vulnerable here because many of them don’t really have the ability to articulate how they’re feeling — whether they’re being bullied by schoolmates, trying to capture the perfect selfie,11 or being stalked by a creep or catfish.

We’ve already seen what this toxic brew does to children. It can make them lonely, depressed, overweight, anxious, and irritable.

On the other hand, we can’t keep our kids off social media forever. My suggestion? Take TikTok’s advice and keep them social-free until they’re 13.12 When they do sign up — with or without your blessing — do your best to limit their social screen time to the healthy limit we outlined above.

5. Make Tech-Free Zones

Here’s a story. Tell me if it sounds familiar. The other night, I was with my family at a restaurant. Two tables away were three 20-something guys, each plugged into his own smartphone, blank-faced, swiping for minutes at a time. Every so often, one of them would snap out of it, look up, and then dive right back in.

One of the most important examples we can set for our kids is not just when it’s ok to use devices, but where. No phones at the dinner table may sound cliché, but it’s essential “screen hygiene” if you want to keep your kids from ending up like the antsy dudes in my story.

Other device-free zones and modes you can consider are beds, walks, and gatherings. You can also add movie time to this list. While you need a TV screen to watch Netflix, you don’t want to teach your kids that multitasking on a small screen at the same time is all right.

Final Thoughts

So that niggling feeling you had that your kids were logging in more than a healthy dose of screen time? It’s probably true. The good news is, you can fix the problem pretty easily by being more attentive and setting some basic screen hygiene rules.

From experience both as a digital security expert and a parent, I’d say the biggest weapon in our digital parenting arsenal is opening up a dialogue about screens early. (Our kids won’t learn to steer clear of predators unless we tell them what predators are and what they do.)

And, as with everything else we do as parents — online and offline — setting the right example is key.