In today’s onlife world, concerns about the impact of screen use on our children’s well-being should be asked. However, recently, a social media post from another online child safety advocate caught our attention, raising questions about the correlation between screen use and outdoor play. ”. In fact, this month (Jan 2024) the Canadian Paediatric Society released a position statement on this very issue called, “Healthy childhood development through outdoor risky play: Navigating the balance with injury prevention”(1) While we share the common belief that children need to spend time outdoors, it’s essential to critically examine the sources of information that shape our perspectives.
The post in question cited a startling statistic:
“74% of tweens spend less time outside than prisoners – less than 1 hour a day,”. (2)
This quote accompanied an image of a young individual staring at a computer screen, strongly implying that tech screens were the primary culprit behind this statistic.
Upon investigating this quote, we discovered that this statistic originated from 2016 questionnaire conducted by OMO and Persil, European laundry detergent manufacturers, as part of their “Free Kids – Dirt is Good” campaign. (3) The research, carried out by Edelman, a brand and reputation company, is very questionable and raises concerns about its scientific validity as the methodology remains undisclosed. Remember, it was created to sell laundry detergent.
To provide a more accurate picture, we delved into academic research on children’s outdoor play habits. Contrary to the alarming 74% statistic mentioned earlier, studies suggest that a significant percentage of children spend a fair amount of time outdoors. As an example, a 2021 global evaluation study across 12 countries reported an average outdoor play duration ranging from 60 to 240 minutes per day. (4)
While we acknowledge the potential influence of screen use on our children’s lives, both positive and negative, attributing negative outdoor play habits solely to screens may not be factually accurate. PEW Research points out that there is a nuanced relationship between technology use and outdoor play. (5) Certainly, the influence of technology on outdoor play can play a role. However, reputable academic research has highlighted various challenges, including factors related to the urban environment and neighborhood dynamics can play a much bigger role (6) – in other words, it multifactorial!
As parents and caregivers, our focus should be on fostering a balanced lifestyle for our children. Instead of demonizing screen use, consider it as part of the broader digital landscape. Numerous studies, including those by PEW Research, indicate that moderate screen use, coupled with ample outdoor play, can have positive effects on a child’s emotional, psychological, and physical well-being.
Also, of interest – in the social media post where the 74% statistic was highlighted, the author also expressed their belief and feeling that “devices groom children to dislike play.” Really? – because this 2021 research found the complete opposite:
“…smartphones do not hinder children’s outdoor lives, but may—on the contrary—create favorable conditions for rich and valuable outdoor lives by expanding (i) children’s and parents’ sense of security, (ii) children’s outdoor sociality, and (iii) children’s opportunity to mold their outdoor experiences. The study especially highlights how children’s smartphones add new opportunities to go places or do activities that otherwise would not have been possible, while also changing the ambience of the outdoors for the better. Furthermore, smartphones enable continuous social interactions that are a key driver in children’s outdoor lives. Hereby we suggest that children’s affinity for the digital world should be reconsidered: it is not ‘all bad’ but should instead be regarded as a condition in modern children’s lives and an asset to embrace in future strategies of actively engaging children in the outdoors. (7)
As a university professors drilled into our heads, “feelings and beliefs can move us to action, but they don’t equal evidence-based facts.” Yes, we have the right to voice our feelings, opinions, and beliefs, but not to push them as facts to push an agenda when they are clearly not supported in the research.
When it comes to our children’s well-rounded emotional, psychological, and physical development surrounding their use of technology, it is essential to question statistics, critically evaluate research sources, and find a balance when it comes to outdoor play. Encourage your children to enjoy the onlife world, embracing technology responsibly while savoring the joys of outdoor exploration – again, it’s all about balance. By staying informed and adopting a holistic onlife approach, we can guide our children towards a healthy and harmonious relationship in today’s onlife world.
In 2016, a company specializing in “brand and reputation” composed the assertion, “74% of tweens spend less time outside than prisoners – less than 1 hour a day,” for a detergent advertising campaign. Today, this quote has now been paired by some, with the increasing concern surrounding youth and their screen use – strategically crafted to capture the interest and attention of parents and caregivers, inducing a sense of juvenoic moral panic through its shocking nature. It succeeded in grabbing our interest and attention, but unlike many, we delved deeper beyond the shock factor.
It’s important for parents to distinguish between peer-reviewed evidence-based academic research and studies conducted by brand reputation companies, where research methods are questionable, may not be transparent, and there is a clear perceived conflict of interest to sell a product, or to be taken out context eight years later by some to support a position on screen use by youth.
Enlighten Not Frighten Through Facts Not Fear!
The White Hatter
References
1/ https://cps.ca/en/documents/position/outdoor-risky-play
3/ https://www.edelman.co.uk/insights/dirt-good-campaign-play
4/ https://ijbnpa.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12966-021-01097-9
