The author of the story, ABC technology
correspondent Becky Worley, didn’t hesitate to
register her own discomfort with the figures,
stating: “I love technology... I have been
covering and studying this issue for a long time.
As a result, I am super strict with my 10-year-old
twins: no screens at all during the week and only
TV shows on the big screen on the weekends.
No YouTube, no tablet games, no Xbox or
PlayStation in our house. My two exceptions are
planes and hospitals.”
NOT EVERYONE SHARES THE SAME
BELIEFS ABOUT SCREEN USE
Now, you might imagine that in light of her
credentials as a long-time observer of the tech
world – in her words, “I even have a master’s
degree that centers on the intersection of
computer science and education” – Worley
would be better-qualified than most of us to
assess what constitutes healthy and unhealthy
screen use. What’s more, it’s been reported
down the years that even some of the biggest
names in technology, such as Bill Gates and
the late Steve Jobs, have imposed stringent
limits on how much time they have allowed
their children to spend staring at a screen.
You may understandably ask, then, why we think
we’re in a position to challenge the views of the
people who were so instrumental in building the
screens our kids spend so much time looking at.
The answer is simple: the debate about screen
time continues to rage, with various thought
leaders and even healthcare professionals
suggesting that the situation is much more
ambiguous than one that calls for us all to
impose strict limits on our children’s screen use.