My kids complain that I’m a “screen time Nazi” just because I set limits on the time we all spend with screens.
I like Instagram as much as the next girl, but with all things in life, balance must prevail.
Even though we have more free time in summer, that doesn’t mean our time with electronic devices should exponentially increase. Right?
Some data about summer reading
A recent study about kids and summer time reading disturbed me. During the “Library Barnacles” Book Riot podcast, hosts Jeff and Rebecca discussed a study promoted by RIF (Reading is Fundamental). Over 1000 parents with kids aged 5-11 answered questions about their children’s leisure habits over the summer. Parents said that on average, in the summer their children spend:
- 17.4 hours/week watching T.V. or playing video games
- 16.7 hours/week playing outside
- 5.9 hours/week reading
Do these numbers concern you?
I was glad to see the 16 hours of outside playtime, but the 17: 5 ratio of screen time to book time bothered me. That’s three times more hours on screens!
The hosts of the Book Riot podcast didn’t find the results shocking. They argued that since kids spend more time playing outside in the summer, it leaves them less time to read.
I must respectfully disagree. Hello! If kids are spending 17 hours on video games and T.V.s, they probably aren’t outside.
Am I over-reacting here?
My husband thinks I am. As a child who didn’t grow up reading much, he isn’t surprised by the numbers and tells me it’s unrealistic to expect more reading.
But I’m not willing to back down. Couldn’t we all strive for a more equal balance between screens and books? How about a 2:1 ratio?
We shouldn’t force kids to read in the summer. But we can entice.
- If we limit their time on screens, maybe they will pick up that book off the floor.
- If we save screen time for an hour or two later in the day, maybe they will do something productive/ creative/ intellectually stimulating before they crouch over a device. Like read.
- If we establish a device curfew (ours is 9 pm – for me too!), perhaps they will develop the lovely habit of reading before sleeping. What a great way to use the natural light of those long summer nights.
And, for those of you playing Candy Crush all the time, wouldn’t you be more likely to read if you turned that screen off?
Yes, I have a teenager with a phone. And he stares at his little screen of text messages during the day. But if I keep interesting books around for him, he also reads an hour or two a day.
Balance.
Do I live up to my own standards?
I did a survey of my leisure habits and discovered that I spend, on average, about 15 hours per week on social media, blogs, and T.V. and 6 hours reading books/ periodicals. I’m not counting my writing screen time. It’s hard to tease out reliable numbers because I read a lot online (articles, blog posts, etc.)
Looks like I’m edging close to that 3:1 ratio myself. Which reinforces my notion that I need to stop fiddling on my phone/iPad/ computer by 9 pm each night and dedicate the later hours of the day to reading books and magazines. Being online in the evening usually revs me up and makes it hard to settle down for sleep.
What about you? Tally up the average hours you spend reading versus screening. What’s your screen to book ratio? What do you think about the results of the study?
Thanks for getting nerdy with me.
Julia
I absolutely agree with you that TV/video games should NOT be the highest number on that chart! I,too, am happy to see the outside time is pretty high. I would argue that it should be the highest thing on there in the summer!
As for me, I spend a lot of time on-screen, but I don’t play *any* games ever. Not even Candy Crush. And a lot of my time on Facebook and Twitter is networking and promotional, so it’s kind of like work. Blogging is also networking with other writers, and I get a lot out of it. As for the TV, it’s on a lot, but I’m almost always working on my laptop while watching it … so …
I don’t know where I fall. I am definitely addicted to my screens. However, I’ve been trying to get off more this summer to exercise, clean the house, and read. (Although a lot of that reading is on another screen, my Kindle …) 😛
I also spend a lot of time on screen, but not playing games. I’ve never liked video games much, except for “Just Dance” and Wii Sports. Yes, our “work” is very definitely tied into screen use- that’s why I’m trying to be mindful of “non-screen” time for me too.
Great insights, thanks Dianne.
Great and provocative post, Julia! I absolutely agree with you – 17 hours a week???! I’m a screen nazi too but if I’m not, my kids don’t read. And I am a huge believer in the value of gobbling up books all summer – my idea of heaven 🙂 my children had their devices taken away for almost a month and I couldn’t believe how much better life was. And I found them reading all the time! Good stuff.