The Labor Party is pledging $2.5 million (US$1.79 million) towards further research into understanding the impacts of screen and gaming addiction in Australian children.
“For (wife) Anna and I, one of the biggest challenges in raising our children is getting them off devices—and I know we’re not alone,” said New South Wales’ (NSW) opposition leader Chris Minns.
“Screen addiction is a relatively new phenomenon parents are dealing with, and I’m worried we don’t have enough research to know what the full impact is on young people, and their developing minds.
“It’s important that both parents and teachers have all the facts on the impacts of screens and devices on childhood development.”
Mobile Use Restricted in NSW Schools
Since the end of 2018, mobile phones have been banned in all NSW primary schools. Meanwhile, there are no mandatory restrictions for high schools, but high schools are given the choice to opt in.Labor says that if elected all NSW public high school students will need to have their mobile phones, smart watches and headphones turned off and out of sight during school hours—unless students were given instructions by a staff member.
This mobile phone ban will follow in the footsteps of South Australia, Victoria, and Western Australia.
However, current Education Minister Sarah Mitchell criticised Labor’s pledge saying there was no difference from current policies already in place.
“They (Labor) want to bring a ban in place, but of course there will be exceptions,” Mitchell told reporters.
Gaming Addiction on the Rise in Australia
Over 22 precent of Australians who play video games are aged under 18 and are the most active connecting with games, according to the Interactive Games & Entertainment Association (IGEA) Digital Australia 2022 report (pdf).The highest average play time by age category is held by children at 106 minutes per day.
Developmental Psychologist Associate Professor Wayne Warburton, says for someone to meet the criteria for Internet Gaming Disorder, video-game use is having a serious impact across multiple areas of young people’s lives including schoolwork, relationships, and mental health.
“For school-age kids, guidelines have been replaced by a recommendation to develop a family media plan, where you and your kids decide on limits together,” Warburton said.
“It’s probably going to be more than the old recommendations of one hour a day during primary school and two in high school, but if you’re getting above three to four hours, then you’re running out of room for them to have a balanced life.
“Think of a healthy media diet as being like a healthy food diet—it’s about moderation and good choices.”
Typical warning signs of Hazardous Gaming (HG) and Internet Gaming Disorders (IGD) include spending more time in their bedrooms, getting poorer school grades, missing out on hobbies and activities, and lying about how much time they spend on gaming.
While IGD and HG can be used to describe excessive use of video games, Warburton said similar effects are associated with addiction to the internet, social media, mobile phones, and even pornography.
“Anyone can develop a screen addiction, but my research shows kids are more at risk if they have issues with impulse control and if their basic needs, like self-esteem, being included, feeling good at things and being in control, are being met better online than offline,” Warburton said.
Too Much Screen Time Throws Body Off Balance
An excess amount of screen time can cut into sleep and push life out of balance, whilst any type of light can suppress the secretion of melatonin, blue light from electronic devices at night suppresses this more powerfully.Electronic devices emit blue light which are rays that have shorter wavelengths and have more energy. Blue light can be beneficial during daylight hours because it can boost attention, reaction times, and mood, but it can be quite disruptive at night.
At night, light can also throw off the body’s biological clock—the circadian rhythm, once thrown off it can contribute to obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and cancer.
“Online interaction doesn’t provide the same level of complex mental stimulation and physical contact as seeing friends in real life,” Warburton said.
“Using an addiction model is a conscious choice. It’s the only way to drive profits because their competitors already use it.”