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No Screen Time Essay

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Screen time is defined as “activities done in front of a screen, such as watching TV, working on a computer, or playing video games” (Kaneshiro, 2015). Screen time would also include time spent on handheld electronic devices, such as smartphones, tablets, and individual gaming systems such as the Nintendo 3DS. Due to the exponentially increasing availability of these sorts of technologies in the world today, students are spending a frequent amount of time in front of a screen, including during school. Currently, the American Association of Pediatricians recommends that children ages 0-2 get no screen time at all and children ages 2 and up get no more than two hours of high-quality programming each day. However, the AAP is going to be rolling out new guidelines in the fall of 2016, possibly lifting the recommendation for no screen time for babies and increasing the limit for children older than two years old (Reddy, 2015). These recommendations would change policies that have been in place since approximately 1999 (Holland, 2013). Some people, including several people involved in early childhood programs and child development programs, believe that a change is necessary (Reddy, 2015). Media is not …show more content…

Education about screen time and its dangers and benefits should be included in K-12 education. We do students a disservice if we deprive them of technology, but we also do them a disservice if we do not teach them how to use the technology in healthy, appropriate ways, such as by limiting screen time. Serious health problems can occur from too much screen time, but ineptitude in using technologies will also cause students damage later in life as well. We must teach students moderation in using screens, including modeling how to use screens appropriately. Students learn from us, even when we do not want them to, so we need to show them what it is like to use screens in a beneficial

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