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The Swedish Public Health Agency, Folkhälsomyndigheten, on September 4 called for a complete ban on screen time for children below two years. Besides that, it called for great restrictions on-screen usage for both older children and teenagers.
The guidelines recommend one hour of daily maximum screen time for toddlers from two to five years. For those from six to twelve years old, this should not exceed two hours. The daily time spent on screens for teenagers from the 13th to the 18th birthday shall be three hours.
These new recommendations sharply cut from the current average screen time in Sweden, where 9-to-12-year-olds are spending four hours a day on screens, while for those aged 17/18 years, it is over seven hours a day, not counting homework.
Sweden is by no means a loner in trying to cut back on-screen time among children.
China has also set strict regulations on the use of the Internet for minors, daily limits range from 40 minutes for children under eight, and up to two hours for 16 and 17-year-olds. Such policies have been quite effective, a British study reports that daily sedentary behavior among Chinese children decreased by 13.8%, which resulted in over 45 minutes of additional time being active, especially in urban areas.
California Governor Gavin Newsom of the US is pushing for a ban on smartphones in school citing increasing rates of cyberbullying and body image problems linked to social media.
UK's Prime Minister Keir Starmer was much more skeptical of introducing such a ban on under-16-year-olds as an alternative to pressing for more regulation of online content that children can access.
This decision by the Swedish and Chinese Governments makes complete sense in light of the effect screen addiction has had on Japanese Children.
In Japan, excessive screen time has resulted in "locomotive syndrome" among children, reflected in deteriorated motor functions, poor posture, and weak bones. This has come to light with a recorded 40% increase in compromised motor skills that show the earliest signs of aging, hence urgent attention to physical activities rather than staying glued to screens is vital for improved health outcomes. This trend tends to expose the physical dangers of excessive screen use, offering arguments for greater regulations and awareness campaigns similar to the ones now put into place in Sweden.
The WHO has cautioned time and again that physical activity among children and adolescents between the ages of 5 and 17 should include at least 60 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic physical activity daily.
Dr. Jai Ranjan Ram, a senior consultant psychiatrist, at the Indian Academy of Pediatrics, noted, "Too much screen time turns children into passive absorbers, hindering brain growth. The younger the brain, the more it suffers."
Indian Academy of Pediatrics similarly cautioned that children below the age of two must avoid screens completely, while between two to five years, screen use must be restricted to one hour per day.
