How much screen time is too much screen time? Even before COVID, tweens were spending hours watching TV, playing video games, and connecting with their friends by smartphone and computers. Two activities from Kids Health get young scholars thinking about screen time. First, they keep a screen time journal—logging the amount of time they spend with each type of screen—and create a screen time budget of no more than two hours a day on their devices. A second activity asks individuals to write a letter to a TV station about why an infomercial should be canned due to its misleading statements.

Concepts

healthy habits, media, electronic media, social-emotional learning, critical thinking, Technology

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Instructional Ideas

• Create a list of favorite, non-screen activities and post the list in the classroom
• Divide pupils into six groups, assign each group a different article to read and discuss, then report their findings to the whole class

Classroom Considerations

• Provides links to related articles designed for teens, discussion questions, two activities, and a comprehension quiz
  

Pros

• The screen time journal creates an awareness of viewing habits and the amount of time spent with devices

Cons

• None