Much research has focused on the extent to which children adhere to the recommended 2-hour daily maximum of screen time, with it increasingly apparent that most children, across a number of countries, spend more time on screens than this (see Houghton et al., 2015 Melkevik, Torsheim, Iannotti, & Wold, 2010). In anticipation of publishing revised guidelines, a 2015 article by the American Academy of Pediatrics (2015) accentuated the importance of these broader approaches to managing children's screen time. For Australia and the US (as well as other countries), current guidelines concerning screen time go beyond the 2-hour recommended limit including suggesting parents limit access to screens in children's bedrooms, monitor how children are using screens, spend screen time together with their children and act as role models by also limiting their own screen time. Acknowledging the changed technological environment in which children are now growing up, the American Academy of Pediatrics expects to publish revised guidelines in 2016. This recommendation was originally made for children in the United States (American Academy of Pediatrics, 2013). For example, the Australian Government, as part of its physical activity and sedentary behaviour guidelines for children aged 5-12 years (Department of Health, 2014) recommends that electronic media use for entertainment purposes be limited to a maximum of 2 hours per day. According to this same survey, watching television (including DVDs and movies) consumed more of children's leisure time than other identified recreational activities (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2012), and so remains an important area to explore in relation to screen time.Ĭoncerns about potential negative effects of excessive screen time have led to recommendations about placing limits on children's screen time.
As at April 2012, 90% of children aged 5-14 years had accessed the Internet in the previous year (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2012). Use of new electronic media, such as computers and electronic games, has become increasingly prevalent in children's lives, with almost every Australian household with children under 15 years of age (96%) having access to the Internet at home in 2012-13 (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2014). This chapter uses LSAC data to explore some of these issues.
As a consequence, there has been considerable interest in understanding more about how much time children spend on screen-based activities, how the amount of screen time varies across children from different families, and whether time spent on these activities is related to children's time spent on other activities and their wellbeing. High levels of screen-based activities during childhood, however, have detrimental effects on aspects of children's wellbeing (Caroli, Argentieri, Cardone, & Masi, 2004 Laurson, Lee, Gentile, Walsh, & Eisenmann, 2014). Media devices such as computers and mobile devices have provided significant opportunities for sociability, learning, creativity, self-expression and entertainment, and television remains a central element of children's leisure time (Houghton et al., 2015). Over the past decade, screen time has begun to play an increasing role in children's lives.
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