Surgeon general warns on youth screen time

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services on May 20 released a surgeon general warning on the harms of screen use among children and adolescents, framing excessive use as a public health concern. The advisory says young people are growing up surrounded by televisions, computers, tablets and smartphones, and that harmful use is linked to sleep problems, anxiety, depression and other health risks. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced the action as the department published both an advisory and a toolkit for parents, schools and clinicians. The warning arrives as states and school districts continue debating cellphone restrictions and screen limits for students. ### What exactly did the government release on May 20? HHS said on Wednesday it issued “The Harms of Screen Use: An Advisory and Toolkit on How to Protect Children and Adolescents,” through the Office of the Surgeon General. The department said the document is meant to raise national awareness about risks tied to excessive and harmful screen use among people ages 0 to 18. (hhs.gov) The advisory says harmful screen use includes patterns that displace sleep, physical activity, schoolwork and in-person interaction. CNN reported the warning cites behaviors including endless social media scrolling, nonstop texting and hours of video games. ### What harms does the advisory say are tied to heavy screen use? (hhs.gov) The New York Times reported the warning links excessive time online to worse sleep issues, anxiety, depression, alcohol use and other health harms. The HHS materials also say screen use can crowd out reading, exercise and face-to-face time with family and friends. (hhs.gov) HHS said children and adolescents now spend as much or more time on screens as they do sleeping or in school. That line is one of the advisory’s clearest measures of scale, and the department used it to argue that screen exposure is shaping daily life and development for young people. (nytimes.com) ### Does the advisory set specific limits for kids? CNN reported the advisory suggests less than one hour a day of screen time for children under 6 years old. HHS’s public materials also recommend screen-free periods, including mealtimes and time before bed, and say parents can delay access to devices by age. (hhs.gov) The HHS toolkit tells families to create regular screen-free times, offer offline alternatives when children are bored, and require chores, homework, music or sports before recreational screen use. The department also says children should avoid sleeping next to devices. ### What does the government want schools and tech companies to do? (msn.com) STAT reported the advisory urges families, schools and healthcare providers to reduce children’s screen time, and says options include bell-to-bell school phone bans and technology design changes. HHS said the warning draws on examples from schools and states that are already limiting screen use during school hours. (hhs.gov) Radio Iowa reported Kennedy said states including Iowa had helped chart the path on national guidance by putting restrictions on cellphone use in schools. He made those remarks during a visit to Gilbert, Iowa, on May 21. ### Is the science settled on screens and mental health? The New York Times reported much of the existing research does not prove screens directly cause poor mental health outcomes, and that some evidence suggests children already struggling may spend more time online. (statnews.com) Forbes similarly said the evidence points to balancing risks and benefits rather than treating all screen use as identical. (radioiowa.com) The HHS advisory still presents the issue as urgent, saying harmful screen use has become a public health concern and calling for action across families, schools, clinicians and industry. The full advisory and toolkit were posted by HHS on May 20 and remain available through the department’s surgeon general pages. (hhs.gov) (nytimes.com)