34 - How to Know if Your Kid Has a Screen Addiction

Host: Dr. Tara Egan
Co-host: Anna, teen daughter

Today we are discussing characteristics of screen addiction in kids and teens. Do you suspect your child or teen has a screen addiction? Tune in as Tara and Anna discuss the warning signs.

Screens, such as those associated with cell phones, tablets, computers, and videos games, are designed to elicit a release of dopamine, a neurotransmitter in our brain, which results in a euphoric feeling and drives us to spend more and more time on screens.

Tara started off the discussion by sharing some general recommendations from the American Pediatric Association about screen time and kids. She shares the guidelines of screen time usage from 0-18 yrs old.

We dive into:

How Tara feels that Discord is not the best app for kids.
How YouTube may be the most misunderstood app because it impacts kids ability to have sustained attention because everything is fast-moving, rolls from one video to the next, and each video is high-interest and brief.
She offers suggestions on how parents can support their kids in maintaining their sustained attention, and expresses concerns about kids using technology as a self-soothing strategy.  She answers the question: who is most at risk for screen addiction?

Symptoms of screen addiction:
- Kids want to spend more time and even replace real life friends with online friends.
- It is interfering with daily activities -not wanting to attend family dinner or shower, or get homework done. These kids often display moodiness or outbursts when asked to transition away from tech devices. 
- They are showing emotional symptoms  - their conversations revolve around being away from their technology, they will say that screen time is the main activity that brings them happiness, and if they are not engaging in screen time, they will act resistant, unhappy and miserable.
- Getting less physical exercise.
- Disturbed sleep.
- Conflict in the home and power struggles, including sneaky behavior, not respecting parental controls, and expressing resentment about technology time.
- Strategies to reduce screen time are unsuccessful.

If any of this information sounds like your kid (or even yourself), reach out to a professional. Remember, Tara provides coaching services to address this issue in kids younger than 13.

Learn more about Dr. Tara Egan's therapy services RIGHT HERE.

To learn more about Dr. Egan's online mini-course called "Managing Your Family's Technology and Social Media", created to help parents eliminate power struggles, keep your family safe from internet misuse, and reconnect with your family, please click RIGHT HERE.

Learn more about Dr. Tara Egan's books, webinars, public speaking opportunities, and coaching/consultation services RIGHT HERE.

If you'd like to join our weekly FREE parenting webinar, register HERE via zoom. Once registered, you can access all the prior webinars from our YouTube channel.

Join our private FB group for parents of high school students RIGHT HERE.

If you'd like to try BARK, a dashboard that monitors content on your child's technological devices, use the code QSG7JBW to get 20% off. If you'd like to try Circle Home Plus to set guidelines around when and where your kids spend their online screen time, use THIS LINK to get $20 off.