The McNicholas Milestone

By Maeve Rice

For many teens, screen time begins with their morning alarm, then checking social media accounts then moves to tablets during school hours with Teams messages popping up. The growing number of screen time causes daily struggles in students’ lives.  

In a recent survey, students and faculty of McNick ranked their most used category on their devices. The vast majority of students ranked social media as the number one category where they spend their screen time, followed by games, then shopping, and food ranking last. According to Cleveland Clinic, “Teens who spend more than three hours a day on social media double their risk of depression and anxiety.” 

Mrs. Margaret Vonderhaar, school counselor said, “In my family we don’t do phones at the table.” This is a suggestion to grow family bonding time and reduce screen time in small increments. 

According to Stanford Medicine, adults who engage in excessive screen time have a lower gray matter volume. Gray matter is where the brain develops, so it is crucial for human beings to not damage it with screen time. It is especially important that teens limit screen time since teenage brains are still developing and growing. It’s important to protect the brain and engage in movement, sleep, balancing stress, and social interaction.  

In the survey, 33% of respondents said they have 4-5 hours of screen time, 26% have 2-3 hours, 19% have 6-7 hours, 18% have 8 hours or more, and 4% indicated that they spend less than 2 hours a day on screens. Some ways respondents said they actively try to cut down their screen time included going outside, limiting screen time, or keeping themselves distracted with chores, like cleaning.  

Vonderhaar also mentioned that she noticed a change in her children with social media. Within her youngest daughter, she said, “because she grew up with social media, she had a different experience with social media than her siblings.” Vonderhaar noticed that there was an increase in importance of social media with her youngest than her older children.  

Screen time also influences sleep schedules, and 58% of respondents agreed with this statement while the other 42% disagree. Hours of sleep for both students and faculty ranged from 5 to 10 hours. An article by the National Library of Medicine stated, “Screen exposure, especially near bedtime, directly leads to poor sleep quality.” It is important to note that reducing sleep can affect performance in school, sports, and other activities that require endurance.  

Getting outside, cleaning, adding app blockers, or setting screen time limits are helpful suggestions to help limit screen time. Sometimes getting a breath of fresh air is more fulfilling than finding the most niche reel.