NEWSLINE: Your child's screen time may not be a cause for concern

Summary

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WCBSAM: On-Demand

Episode: NEWSLINE: Your child's screen time may not be a cause for concern
Release Date: July 12, 2024
Guest: Dr. Michael Rich (Digital Wellness Lab, Boston Children's Hospital, Clinic for Interactive Media and Internet Disorders)
Host: Audacy

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Episode Overview

This episode addresses common parental concerns regarding children's screen time, drawing on the expertise of Dr. Michael Rich, a pediatrician specializing in media effects on children. Dr. Rich challenges the prevailing anxieties about the quantity of screen time, emphasizing instead a healthier, more nuanced approach that focuses on teaching children productive and mindful digital habits.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Rethinking Screen Time (00:49)

• Measuring Screen Time Is Outdated:
  Dr. Rich explains that due to the integrated nature of today's digital and physical experiences, quantifying "screen time" is increasingly impractical and less meaningful than it was during the era of television.

  "We can't even measure screen time anymore because the way we use it now is to move seamlessly in and out of the digital and the physical, unlike the days of television." (Dr. Rich, 00:54)

• Content Over Quantity:
  The emphasis should be on what children do on their screens rather than how long they're on devices.

2. The Three 2M's Approach (01:40)

• Model, Mentor, Monitor:
  Dr. Rich outlines his "three 2M's" rule for parents, described in his book.

  • Model: Parents' digital habits influence how kids use tech.
  • Mentor: Guide children whenever they encounter a new device or platform.
  • Monitor: Not constant surveillance, but enough oversight (knowing usernames and passwords) that kids remain aware their behavior can be observed.

  "Model the behavior you want to see in your kids... mentor them... and monitor them..." (Dr. Rich, 01:40)

• Mastery & Memories:
  Proper use leads to "mastery" (using tech well and knowing when to disengage) and most importantly, making real memories outside of screens.

  "Because we make memories of interpersonal and personal relations and situations, not of what we do on screen." (Dr. Rich, 02:35)

3. Rethinking "Internet Addiction" (02:44)

• A New Framework: Dr. Rich rejects the term "Internet addiction," preferring "problematic interactive media use," highlighting that excessive use typically doesn’t fit the classic addiction model.

  "We call it problematic interactive media use because it does not easily fit the model of addiction. It is more akin... to binge eating disorder, where underlying psychological stresses are trying to be relieved or soothed..." (Dr. Rich, 02:50)

• Root Causes:
  Most problematic tech use is a symptom of underlying issues—such as ADHD, social anxiety, autism spectrum disorder, or depression. Screens serve as a means to self-soothe, rather than the source of these problems.

  "...there are underlying disorders driving this. The most common ones being attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, social anxiety, autism spectrum disorder and depression." (Dr. Rich, 03:20)

4. Determining When Kids Should Get Phones (04:00)

• No Universal Age:
  Dr. Rich advises against a 'one size fits all' age for first phones. Instead, treat devices as "power tools":

  • Assess if the child truly needs it and can handle its responsibility.
  • The first device doesn't have to be a smartphone—even a flip phone can be appropriate.
  • Clearly define, with the child, expectations for use and consequences for rule-breaking.

  "When a child has a need for the power tool... then it's important to determine whether they can handle it responsibly... and to have an open talk about what and when and where they are to use the phone..." (Dr. Rich, 04:10)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• "It's what they do on screens that matters, not how much they do of it."
  — Dr. Rich, 00:58

• "Model the behavior you want to see in your kids. The way you use screens affects the way they use them."
  — Dr. Rich, 01:43

• "This is not making these kids, their use of screens is not making these kids have problems, but those problems are driving them to screens in their effort to distract and soothe themselves."
  — Dr. Rich, 03:44

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Important Timestamps

• 00:54 — Dr. Rich explains why screen time is no longer a useful measurement.
• 01:40 — Introduction to the "three 2M's" parenting approach.
• 02:44 — Reframing problematic media use and its root causes.
• 03:20 — Conditions making kids more susceptible to problematic use.
• 04:10 — Guidance on when a child should have a phone.

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Summary

Dr. Michael Rich's nuanced advice in this episode urges parents to focus less on policing screen hours and more on guiding their kids toward healthy media relationships. By modeling balanced tech habits, mentoring mindful use, and monitoring with openness, families can foster digital mastery and create valuable, offline memories. Most concerns about overuse should instead prompt a compassionate look at possible underlying issues—mental health, not just media habits, is often the deeper concern. Dr. Rich's reframing offers hope and actionable guidance for families navigating today's screen-saturated world.

Transcript

[A]

Many parents are worried about their children's screen time, scrolling through social media and playing video games. A leading pediatrician says don't stress about it. Dr. Michael Rich, who runs the Digital Wellness Lab at Boston Children's Hospital and the Clinic for Interactive Media and Internet Disorders, a treatment program for kids, is joining us on Newsline. Dr. Rich, thank you for joining us. You call yourself a mediatrician. How do you define that?

[B]

Well, I am a pediatrician who takes care of kids as they grow up, as most pediatricians do. But I have a deep experience in both making media and responding to the effects of the media kids use and how they use them on their health and development.

[A]

Dr. Rich, how much is too much screen time?

[B]

Well, I'm going to give you a hard answer to that question, and that is we can't even measure screen time anymore because the way we use it now is to move seamlessly in and out of the digital and the physical, unlike the days of television where we could truly measure how long we were in front of it. So I think that what's the issue here is that it's what they do on screens that matters, not how much they do of it.

[A]

You say parents should be helping their children learn to use screens in a healthy and productive way rather than worry about how long they're actually using the devices. So how do they do that?

[B]

Well, as I outlined in my book the Mediatrician's A Joyful Approach to Raising Healthy, Smart, Kind Kids in a Screen Saturated World, I use the three two M's rule, I.e. model the behavior you want to see in your kids. The way you use screens affects the way they use them, mentor them. When you introduce each new device or application or platform and monitor them, not all the time, but be able to monitor them with their usernames and passwords so that they will change their behavior because they know it can be seen. What that gives to us is the two M's of mastery of these very powerful tools for the kids, which means using them effectively and then turning them off when they're not the best tool for the job. And perhaps most joyful, making memories. Because we make memories of interpersonal and personal relations and situations, not of what we do on screen.

[A]

Dr. Rich, you don't like the term Internet addiction? What do you call it?

[B]

We call it problematic interactive media use because it does not easily fit the model of addiction. It is more akin in some ways to binge eating disorder, where underlying psychological stresses are trying to be relieved or soothed by the young person. By eating. In this case by doom scrolling, if you will.

[A]

Who's most at risk for falling into trouble with phones and screens?

[B]

At the Clinic for Interactive Media and Internet Disorders where we see kids who have gotten in trouble with screens, what we have found in virtually every situation with hundreds of kids is that there are underlying disorders driving this. The most common ones being attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, social anxiety, autism spectrum disorder and depression. And this is not making these kids, their use of screens is not making these kids have problems, but those problems are driving them to screens in their effort to distract and soothe themselves.

[A]

Is there an age, you say, when would be okay for kids to have phones? A lot of parents kind of struggle with that.

[B]

I think it's hard to set a perfect age for it. I think a better way to look at it is understand these powerful tools as power tools. And when a child has a need for the power tool and it doesn't always have to be a smartphone, it can be a flip phone, then it's important to determine whether they can handle it responsibly with respect for themselves and others, and to have an open talk about what and when and where they are to use the phone, and for what and also specifically what and where and how they are not to use the phone and with the child before they get it to determine what the consequences should be if they go past these guardrails.

[A]

Dr. Michael Rich, who runs the Digital Wellness Lab at Boston Children's Hospital and the Clinic for Interactive Media and Internet Disorders. He's also the author of the Media Attrition's Guide A Joyful Approach to Raising Healthy, Smart, Kind Kids in a Screen Saturated World. Thank you.