Screen time anxieties: Changing the conversation around kids and tech

When it comes to screen time, parents and carers must navigate an emotionally charged landscape of conflicting advice and information. For a long time, parenting advice around children and technology focused on policing screen time. Fortunately, this is beginning to change and some guidelines now acknowledge that a ‘one size fits all’ approach doesn’t allow for the complexity and diversity of family life. Yet this change seems to have had little impact on public discussion around children and technology, which is often still overwrought with screen time anxieties, idealistic expectations, and rigid rules. Parents and carers must navigate an emotionally charged landscape of conflicting advice and information that’s often presented as having incredibly high stakes for their child’s wellbeing. Hosted by the ARC Centre of Excellence for the Digital Child in partnership with ACMI, this episode (filmed during a public seminar) aims to consider the position of parents amid these discussions. It will bring together a panel of experts – Dr Billy Garvey, Derek McCormack and Fiona Holder – and advocates to hear their insights, asking – what is the nature of current ‘screen time’ discussion and advice? How does this advice connect to parents’ actual concerns and perspectives? What makes for good parenting advice? And how can our parents and carers be supported in ways that don’t exacerbate pressures and anxieties?