Adam Alter, Social Psychologist and author of “Irresistible: The Rise of Addictive Technology and the Business of Keeping Us Hooked” says, “It’s important to eat healthy foods alongside candy and dessert, and the same is true of the ’empty calories’ that come from spending too much time passively gazing at screens.”
like dessert, ‘bad’ screen time should be balanced with ‘healthy’ screen time – and keeping the balance is much better than banning tech altogether.
Psychologists divide the way we use tech into two categories – passive and active screen time. Active screen time is when we are learning, bending our minds, doing something creative or video chatting to another person. Passive screen time is when we’re vegging out, watching a film or scrolling absent-mindedly through social media. Active screen time is the healthy part of the screen time diet, and ideally it should outweigh the amount of passive screen time they spend.
As a parent, you’re the best person to tell if your teen needs more time away from their screen. Here are some tell-tale signs that they need a change: * They’re finding it hard to concentrate on off-screen activities like reading and writing * They have a meltdown when separated from their phone * They avoid spending time in-person with friends and family