The Screen Time Debate: What Do We Really Know About the Effects of Children’s Time Online?

In this episode of UNICEF Innocenti's Research Matters podcast, we’re talking to our resident expert on all things digital for children, Daniel Kardefelt Winther, who leads our research programme on Children & Digital Technology, about children and screentime – Is screen time really bad for child development? Is what kids are doing on screens more important than how much time kids spend on screens? What does the evidence really say? Dale Rutstein, our Chief of Communications joins us as we discuss recent scary headlines about screen time for kids (5:54), the dangers of misreporting on research about children online (13:08), the risks of excluding online activities (21:21), and also the benefits of including children in the discussions and research on effects of screen time (27:25). We also reveal our own slightly embarrassing screen time reports (23:53) and discuss how parents' use of screens in front of their children can actually be more detrimental than children's own use (24:33)and the importance of engagement and participation in general. For more research on time spent online, read our research paper by Daniel Kardefelt-Winter: How Does the Time Children Spend Using Digital Technology Impact Their Mental Well-being, Social Relationships and Physical Activity? An Evidence-focused Literature Review: https://www.unicef-irc.org/publications/925-how-does-the-time-children-spend-using-digital-technology-impact-their-mental-well.html Follow us on Twitter @UNICEFInnocenti And our podcast panel: @winthernet, @ksulli and @dalerutstein