WHO Issues New Guideline on Screen Time Restrictions for Children

April 24, 2019, the World Health Organization has issued its first ever restriction guidelines for screen time given to children that are under five years old.

The guidelines from WHO resembles the advice from the American Academy of Pediatrics where children younger than 18 months should not be exposed to screens other than during telecommunication such as video chats. According to the WHO, children under five years of age should not have a lot of exposure to screens. For infants under 1 year, the organization recommends that the said age group would not have any screen time at all.

According to the guidelines, "high-quality programming" should be hand-picked by the parents for their young children under two years of age. The type of programming should have an educational value that should be watched with the parent so that the children would be guided as to what they are seeing. This would help the children understand the program better.

However, there are still some oppositions that raise the issue that the screen time guidelines implemented by WHO has failed to consider the potential benefits of digital media.

Andrew Przybylski, the director of research at the Oxford Internet Institute of the University of Oxford, stated that the new screen time guidelines really focuses on the quantity of screen time and fails to consider the context of use and the content. The research director further added that not all screen time is created to be equal.

A statement from Britain's Royal College of Pediatrics and Child Health points out the weakness of the data available which cannot serve as a basis for the experts to set a threshold establishing the appropriate level of screen time.

Dr. Max Davie, the university's Officer for Health Improvement, explains that their research has shown that there is currently no strong evidence that can support the setting of screen time limits. The doctor further explained that the restricted screen time limits suggested by the WHO is not proportionate to the potential harm.

While it is true that WHO did not specifically give details on the potential harm caused by excessive screen time, the organization has expressed the urgent need to address the increasing amount of sedentary behavior in the general population. In the guidelines, The organization has recommended that physical activity and sleep should be prioritized. It has been noted in the guidelines that lack of physical activity is the leading risk factor for death among children. It has also been identified as one of the major causes that contribute to the rise in obesity.

The organization has emphasized that infants less than a-year-old should spend at least half an hour on their stomachs every day. They added that older kids should get at least three hours of daily physical activities as well.