By Age Eight, a Child Has Spent a Full Year on a Smartphone
Author Jennifer Cohen points to 2010, when outdoor play gave way to solitary time indoors on screens.
Habits and Hustle · Episode 586: Raising Resilient Kids in the Age of Smartphones and Overprotective ParentingBy age eight, children have spent a full year on a smartphone, according to an estimate from Jennifer Cohen. A year is about 8,760 hours, which averages about three hours a day from birth to eight.
Cohen, author of a book on raising mentally strong children, points to 2010, when smartphones took off, as the turning point.
She describes the change this way: before, afternoons meant going outside to play, riding bikes, climbing trees, and having adventures; after 2010, children withdrew inside onto iPads playing video games alone, and socializing faded.
She also links that shift to sharp rises in anxiety, depression, and suicide, though she gives no data for the rise in the interview.
Questions people ask
Did anxiety and depression in kids really rise after 2010?
Yes. U.S. federal surveys show persistent sadness, depressive symptoms and suicide rates among adolescents rose markedly through the 2010s. Researchers debate the causes, and most point to multiple factors, but the upward trend after around 2010 is well documented.
Is any screen time okay, or does all of it replace playing outside?
Pediatricians distinguish between types of use. Video chatting with family, making music and some educational programs are very different from hours of solo scrolling and gaming. The concern is mainly about heavy, solitary, recreational use crowding out sleep, exercise and in-person play.
How much screen time do pediatric guidelines suggest for young children?
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends avoiding screen media, other than video chatting, for children younger than 18 to 24 months. For ages 2 to 5, it suggests no more than one hour a day of high quality programming watched with a parent.