A recent article in the pediatric literature noted that teens who spend a lot of time on-line, watching TV, and playing video games have an increased rate of depression. My thought was that perhaps teens who are prone to depression spend a lot time in “electronic” activity. But, the investigators studied kids who were not depressed at the onset of the study and evaluated them some time later. I am not sure that it is possible to determine who is “prone” to depression, but I’ll just accept the study.
Another study indicated that kids who spend a lot of time on-line, playing video games and watching TV do not get the nine hours of sleep teens require. And teens who do not get enough sleep are more likely to become depressed, do poorly in school, and be obese. I believe this study; if I had to watch TV and play video games I would be very depressed and it wouldn’t take 6 hours of it daily to get me there. Two hours a day would easily do the trick.
With school approaching, the bottom line is that we parents should get a hand on our teen’s viewing habits. To do so reqires two easily enforcable rules: 1) All cell phones need to be in their recharging unit in the kitchen at 9:30 or 10 PM, depending on how early your teen needs to get up; and 2) No TVs or computers in the teens bedrooms. If computers are needed for home work they need to be in a “public” place in the house where adults can supervise their use.
Kids lives are too important to do otherwise!