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How badly does screen time really affect our children" Not as much as you might think, say experts ? and there are even some benefits, too
This week the World Health Organisation (WHO) officially classed gaming addiction as a mental health condition, which has left many parents asking: how much screen time should children really be getting"
According to WHO, the symptoms include gaming “taking precedence over other life interests”, impaired control over gaming, and continuation or escalation of gaming, despite negative consequences.
But experts have hit back against these claims, arguing that the evidence is “poor” and misleading to parents in terms of how much screen time is actually acceptable. Dr Pete Etchells, reader in psychology and science communication at Bath Spa University,  said the classification “sets us up on a slippery slope” that could cause unnecessary concern for some parents. “It looks as though we’ve got this clear set of formal criteria for diagnosing something, when really if you look at the research that underpins that, we don’t yet. We are essentially pathologising a hobby here, so which one is next"”
Research carried out into tanning and exercise addictions haven’t been given the same amount of attention, says Dr Etchells. “Nobody is talking about those things as seriously potentially harmful things in the same sort of way. So there’...