Parenting expert and positive psychologist Reena B. Patel discusses recent APA research on the impact screen time can have on kids' emotional health.

Los Angeles

New research from the American Psychological Association has found that screen time can have varying effects on children's emotional health, particularly among those aged six to ten. The study observed that girls exposed to more screen time experienced increased emotional challenges such as aggression, depression, and social difficulties, while boys tended to use screen time as a coping mechanism for their own challenges.

Experts suggest that co-viewing content with adults can reduce negative impacts, as it encourages conversation and reflection. They recommend balancing screen time with other activities and using screens as a motivational tool, rather than viewing them as inherently harmful.

New data links screen time to kids' emotional health

As kids head back to school, many will spend more time on screens, you know, for homework, maybe for fun. New research out there in the APA shows that might mean more when it comes to your emotional health. Is it a good thing, bad thing? Usually it's a bad thing. Parenting expert and positive psychologist Reena B. Patel is here with tips on how to strike that healthy balance. We talk about balance all the time. Is there such a thing? You say there is. We just have to find a way to strike that magic balance. When it comes to this study specifically, though, what did you notice? What stood out? You know, it's interesting because we've been looking at this for years, and the American Psychological Association have done multiple studies. One in particular was a longitudinal study. It really looked not only at kids, a specific age group, six to ten, and we can talk beyond this. It's always affecting the young ones. More important than affecting, let's say, toddlers who are exposed to screens. The bigger thing, too, is the difference between the girls and boys and how they use screen time as a coping mechanism. So what they found was girls who were exposed to screens, the outcomes were an increase in emotional challenges, whether it was aggression, you know, depression, isolation, difficulty with social skills. In turn, with boys, they were using screen time to actually cope with those difficulties. Why is that, though? So I found that very interesting, and what it is is girls are exposed and are almost used as a reinforcement cycle. And so when they're exposed to watching negative things online, body positivity issues, all those things, even on social media when they're scrolling, because that's screen time as well, it increases the negativity, right? So when they get off, if you ask a girl, how do you feel after this? I feel less confident. I feel more insecure. I feel like I need that. I have to be that. I don't look like that, right? And when boys are, oftentimes it's gaming or it's looking, that's where their screen time comes. They're almost using that to fill a void. Interesting. And so there's the difference right there. That's a big difference. That's really interesting. So a lot of us, I mean, I grew up watching TV with parents or relatives, whatever, and that study found that co-viewing actually seems to have fewer negative impacts, which I found to be interesting. What's the takeaway there? Right. I mean, when we were growing up, it was almost, for me, I was that latchkey kid, right? So I had to, there was no one around, and so I was watching television. But the important thing is when you're watching with an adult or you're watching with a mentor, someone who's there with you, there's conversations, right? And when you're watching a show, what's happening? They're not on their phones. They're actually conversing, right? There's things happening. They're doing activities together. And so what's so important is to have the dialogue and having someone there to talk about a storyline or a theme or not just passive viewing. Yeah, that is huge, and that's what we see. I think also if you're watching with others, it can influence what you watch. So I don't remember if I told you, I made my kids or we started watching Little House on the Prairie, like from beginning, which I had never seen from the beginning. And you're right, because after every episode, we talk about what we just saw and the lessons, that kind of viewing, right? So like, what did we learn? You know, what's the takeaway? And it is very helpful versus when they're just on their own, like zombies, just like staring at that thing for hours, and they don't even know what to pull from it. And it's a great teaching tool. And screens are not our enemies. We just have to know how to incorporate it better and also how to balance exactly what you said. So one of the things we should do is use screens as almost that motivator because it's never going away. And so, yes, you can be on your screen. But first, let's do this, this and this. Or let's take a break. Let's go outside and let's find that balance. If they've done it for 30 minutes and let's do something else for 30 minutes. That's actually great advice, Rina, because that's realistic. Screens are not going away. We just have to figure out how to use them to our benefit. Thank you so much and welcome back. Thank you. You look well rested. Thank you. Nice little trip. Yeah. Now back to school. We'll be right back.

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