Chime in...what is the role and responsibility of schools to use or limit screen time?

Wow! When we came back from a vacation I asked students what they did over break and this was the first time in 20 plus years of teaching that most students said "nothing." The majority, when prodded, 90% or more, reported they played video games for most of their break. It was a huge surprise. Most didn't travel, didn't surf, didn't play football, didn't skate, didn't go to the beach or movies with friends. Instead they stayed inside, on the screen.

I also thought about a billboard I saw driving home from holiday vacation that was for a rehab facility. It had listed programs for alcoholism, drug-addiction, gambling, and gaming. I remember it surprised me. After hearing the students report their screen-focused vacation time, it really hit me hard and it suddenly reminded me of a family I knew years ago where two brothers both ended up logging over 50 hours a week on video games. They were known in my husband's circle as amazing gamers on the game "Ever Quest" but after a year of this "accomplishment" both were divorced; wives reported it was due to the video game addiction. My husband swore off the game.

I hadn't thought about it for years, until now. Am I on to something here as I lay on my screen, typing away after a day of "working" online? What is our responsibility as educators? How many of us are still on our screens, after we've asked our own children to go to log-off and go to bed?

Many of us have been dedicated to closing the access gap and getting technology into the hands of our students, but now are we contributing to this screen overload? I have friends who attend Waldorf and commit to no or little screen and I respect that, but in my own family, we really like to hang and watch TV together and find it really relaxing. But instead, is it just numbing out our brain and keeping us from being able to wind-down naturally?

Now it's really making me think as a parent and an educator about my habits and curriculum and how screen is part of everything I do. What do you think? I am urging students to investigate this problem at our school, to get a baseline of screen time. We are also getting more calls this year from parents concerned with their students performance and noticing that they can't get them off of video games and asking for our help.

What do you think? sleep, screen time, and video-gaming

Post your comments, research and/or experiences with screen time in your school, home, and community. https://www.commonsensemedia.org/research/the-common-sense-census-media-use-by-tweens-and-teens https://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2018/04/18/school-principals-overwhelmingly-concerned-about-childrens-scree.html https://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2015/07/16/is-internet-addiction-a-health-threat-for-teenagers/dont-limit-your-teens-screen-time https://www.screenagersmovie.com/sleep-screens/ https://www.npr.org/sections/ed/2018/02/05/579554273/screen-addiction-among-teens-is-there-such-a-thing https://www.webmd.com/mental-health/addiction/features/video-game-addiction-no-fun#1 https://www.chicagotribune.com/lifestyles/stevens/ct-life-stevens-wednesday-screen-time-doesnt-harm-kids-0109-story.html