Trump administration issues screen time advisory for children, teens

Health officials under the Trump administration issued an advisory Wednesday warning that excessive screen time among children and adolescents has become a public health concern due to negative impacts on sleep and mental functioning.

The advisory from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) noted that screen time averages four or more hours per day by adolescence, linked to poor sleep, decreased school performance, reduced physical activity and weakened in-person relationships.

“A concern at all stages of life, and a particularly important one around children’s screen exposure, is its potential to disrupt healthy sleep, which is fundamental to learning, mood, behavior, physical health, and overall development,” the report said.

The department offered guidance on identifying harmful screen behaviors and setting limits, recommending no screen time for children under 18 months, less than one hour daily for children under six, and two hours daily for those aged six to 18.

“Exposure often begins before a child’s first birthday and increases as children age. By adolescence, children may spend more time on screens than sleeping or attending school,” the report said.

Outside the U.S., efforts to limit screen time include legislation in Australia and India prohibiting children under 16 from holding accounts on major social media platforms, and China’s “minor mode” program imposing device-level and app-specific restrictions. Many other countries are considering similar bans.

Last month, the Los Angeles Unified School District passed a resolution to restrict screen use in public education classrooms, setting limits per grade level, eliminating technology for first grade and below, and barring student-led use of YouTube and other streaming platforms.

Separately, a court in New Mexico found Meta, parent company of Facebook, liable for misleading consumers about platform safety and endangering children. A Los Angeles court also found Meta and Google negligent in a social media addiction lawsuit.

The HHS advisory was compiled by agency officials because no surgeon general has been confirmed. Dr. Stephanie Haridopolos is acting leader while lawmakers consider Dr. Nicole Saphier, a radiologist and former Fox News contributor.

“While screen use can have some benefits, the evidence of a range of risks to children’s overall mental and physical health is mounting,” HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. wrote in the foreword to the advisory, which includes the motto “Live real life.”

Kennedy said social media “is only one aspect of this ongoing screen time problem. Behavior patterns involving gaming, online gambling, and other forms of virtual interaction are emerging.”

He added that “screen time” is shorthand for “the entire digital ecosystem of apps, smartphones, tablets, chatbots, and other screen-associated devices and interfaces” and that the advisory was not simply a warning but “an invitation for all of us to enjoy a broader world, beyond the confines of screens.”

In a series of “calls to action,” the department recommended tracking screen time, taking breaks, creating rules over screens and screen time, implementing restrictions by schools, monitoring by doctors, and studying long-term impacts and school cell phone policy bans.

The advisory coincides with a campaign by Melania Trump, who launched a “Be Best” initiative in 2018 focusing on issues affecting children, including social media and cyberbullying.