As the father of two teenagers, trying to manage screen time today feels less like parenting and more like working a second job as a frustrated information technology administrator.
Our teens jump seamlessly from a smartphone to an iPad, over to the laptop for schoolwork, and then straight to the gaming console in the living room. Every individual device has its own screen time limit setting that can be turned on, but these controls are completely fragmented. You set a strict screen time limit on one device, and your teenager just pivots to the other one.
Study after study has shown that extended screen time can lead to sleep problems and shortened attention spans for teenagers at a time when they are already dealing with schoolwork, extracurriculars, and all the other stressors that come with growing up.
The bottom line is that it shouldn’t take an advanced degree to keep your kids safe online.
My own experience inspired a piece of legislation that I recently introduced in Congress to take on this problem. The Tracking Online Time And Limits (TOTAL) Screen Time Act would centralize screen time controls across devices, meaning you could set a limit that would apply across each piece of technology your kid might own.
Importantly, the bill explicitly outlines the need for data privacy, and bars any data sharing across devices. It simply uses the research power at the National Institute of Standards and Technology to create a technical standard across devices, so we can establish universal limits that give parents the tools they need to succeed.
This framework would be developed in-hand with the Surgeon General’s office as well other medical professionals to ensure that our children’s welfare is at the forefront of the standard.
We have endless amounts of data that show how harmful screens are for kids, but we do not have a simple solution. Imagine the relief for a parent who can set one universal screen time limit that actually follows their child across every screen they own. This is not a heavy-handed government mandate. It is basic parent empowerment.
This bill doesn’t tell families how much screen time is right for their kids – that’s a decision for parents to make. What it does is give parents the tools to actually enforce that decision, no matter what device their child picks up.
As a parent who faces this issue every day, I know how much time and energy this would save me. Government is at its best when it is directly addressing the needs of the people it serves and this bill would directly lighten the load on parents.
I will work as hard as I can to see this bill become law for our kids’ sake and will keep the voices of fellow parents in mind as I fight for it in Washington.
Rep. George Whitesides represents California’s 27th Congressional District. “Democratic Voices” appears Tuesdays and rotates among several local Democrats.
