Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., Dr. Stephanie Haridopolos Issue Advisory on Screen Use Among Children

Scientific Based Report Concerns Regarding Screen Usage

Interim Surgeon General Dr. Stephanie Haridopolos, above, and Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. jointly released an advisory on screen use among children. Regarding the scientific data accumulated for this Advisory, Haridopolos said, “History will judge us, not only by the steps we take today, but by the inaction that we allow.” For the full U.S. Surgeon General’s Advisory, CLICK HERE.

WASHINGTON, DC – Interim Surgeon General Dr. Stephanie Haridopolos and Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., jointly released an advisory on screen use among children.

“History will judge us, not only by the steps that we take today, but by the inaction that we allow,” said Haridopolos.

While delivering his remarks on the advisory, Kennedy said that, for the first time in American history, the Office of the Surgeon General is issuing an official advisory warning parents and the public about the dangers of excessive screen time and harmful digital media exposure for children:

While screen use can have some benefits, the evidence of a range of risks to children’s overall mental and physical health is mounting.

These negative outcomes are related to harmful use, including use by children with vulnerable medical conditions, along with the ubiquity of devices and features deliberately built into many tech platforms to promote “engagement,” a positive-sounding word that, for too many young people, is a path to addiction-like behavior.

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.

While this report uses “screen time” as a widely understood shorthand, we want people to understand that we are referring to the entire digital ecosystem of apps, smartphones, tablets, chatbots, and other screen-associated devices and interfaces.

From the individual and family up to governmental policy, there is recognition that young children, tweens, teens, and families need help to curb the overuse of screens.

Drawing on a broad range of expertise, this Advisory outlines everyday actions that can be taken, as well as what schools and states are already doing to limit screen time during school hours.

For this Advisory, which focuses on children and adolescents aged 0-18 years, we engaged a wide range of experts, including psychologists, pediatricians, behavioral scientists, academic researchers, and health communicators.

We gratefully acknowledge the important contributions of each of these scientists, clinicians, reviewers, and leaders to this Advisory.

This report is evidence-based, forward-looking, and action-oriented. While we describe knowledge gaps where focused research is needed, it is a basic principle of public health, the precautionary principle, that action cannot wait until all evidence is available.

There are children, adolescents, families, schools, and communities who have found a different path and have built healthy relationships with—and without—technology.

They gather for game nights, read books, sing, and play sports. They volunteer in their communities and participate in faith groups. Along with their families, they spend time at playgrounds, libraries, and community centers. They build lasting friendships, which we now know contribute to longer and healthier lives.

We have sought to learn from them and want to keep doing so. We should all strive as a nation to expand access to these types of activities, whether financial or neighborhood-safety-related.

This Advisory is not only a warning, but also an invitation for all of us to enjoy a broader world, beyond the confines of screens.

Join us as we seek to scroll less and live best. Let’s turn our screens off and our brains and bodies on, so that we can live real life.”

For the full U.S. Surgeon General’s Advisory, CLICK HERE.

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