Educators must balance many aspects of their classroom. The main goal of school is learning, and teachers must set up an environment that is safe and effective for meaningful learning. Technology and screen time, while very useful for teachers in many ways, can also be a detriment to their students. A UNICEF report states that children represent 1 in 3 internet users worldwide (Kids and screen time, 2018), and even more use screens without internet. As teachers, we do not know how screen time limits are being set at home, or how families are educating their children about screen time, but we do know how much screen time they are getting at school, and must set limits to try to maximize our students’ learning.

Excessive screen time has an adverse impact on childhood development (Domingues-Montanari, 2017). Screen time also may also cause a lack of sleep, and may lead students to exhibiting unpredictable behaviour due to poor stress regulation, internalizing or externalizing behaviour and poor social coping skills (Lissak, 2018). Additionally, there is a risk of developing antisocial and non-prosocial behaviours due to overexposure to violent content, and brain structural changes related to cognitive control and emotional regulation have been associated with digital media addictive behaviour (Lassik, 2018). 

Teachers must be aware of these adverse effects that screen time can have on their students, as it will lead to an environment that does not foster learning. Additionally, students with ADHD and other learning differences may be impacted by screen time even more (Brain Balance). While we cannot control what goes on at home in regards to screen time, we can control what happens at school. It is important for teachers to promote cognitive development, be aware of their students’ attention spans and to help educate their students about screen time so that they can make healthy choices for themselves (SickKids staff). 

Domingues-Montanari, Sophie. (2017, February 6). Clinical and Psychological Effects of Excessive Screen Time on Children. Wiley Online Library.

Lissak, G. (2018, July). Adverse Physiological and Psychological Effects of Screentime.  Science Direct. https://www-sciencedirect-com.ezproxy.library.uvic.ca/science/article/pii/S001393511830015X?via%3Dihub#s0010

Mayo Clinic. (2018, July 21). Kids and Screen Time: Mayo Clinic Radio. [Video]. YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WCx3QANzLr4

Sickkids Staff. (n.d.). How to Help Your Child Set Healthy Screen Time Limits. SideKicks. https://www.aboutkidshealth.ca/article?contentid=644&language=english

Tips for Managing Too Much Screen Time at School.  (n.d.). Brain Balance. Retrieved March 15, 2021 from https://www.brainbalancecenters.com/blog/tips-managing-much-screen-time-school