For a 13-year-old, average recreational screen time often exceeds the recommended under 2 hours daily, with studies showing averages ranging from 3 to over 8 hours, including gaming, social media, and TV, though this varies by gender and activity, with teens spending significantly more time than younger kids and often prioritizing social connection through screens. The focus is shifting from just time to content quality and balance with physical activity, sleep, and family time, as screens are integral to modern social lives.
The Australian Government Department of Health and the American Academy of Pediatrics have recommended a limit of 2 hours per day of sedentary, recreational screen time outside of school hours for teenagers.
There is no magic number of hours for recommended screen time for adults; however, there is clear evidence that too much screen time can be detrimental to your health.
Screen Time by Age Group and Gender
Infants (0 to 2 years): 49 minutes a day. Children (3 to 12 years): 2.5 to 5 hours a day. Adolescents (13 to 19 years): 7.5 hours a day. Adults (20 to 59 years): 6.38 hours a day.
The 3-6-9-12 screen time rule is a guideline by experts like Serge Tisseron to help parents gradually introduce digital devices, suggesting no screens before 3 (except video calls), no personal consoles before 6, no unsupervised internet before 9, and no social media before 12, focusing on age-appropriate digital literacy, safety, and balancing screen time with real-world activities like free play and social interaction.
toddlers (1–2 years): 11–14 hours, including naps. preschool (3–5 years): 10–13 hours, including naps. school-age (6–13 years): 9–12 hours. teens (14–17 years): 8–10 hours.
The child should look away from the screen about every 20 minutes, focus on an object at least 20 feet away for about 20 seconds. Kids should also get up and walk away from the screen for 10 minutes each hour. What apps, programs or rules do you recommend to help parents keep kids safe on their devices?
One child may be ready for the responsibility of owning a phone at 10, while another might not be ready until age 13 or beyond. In a recent survey, 45 percent of parents report that 12 to 14 is the right age for a smartphone, 16 percent report ages 9 to 11, and 28 percent report ages 15 to 17.
How much daily screen time does Generation Z typically have? Generation Z, born between 1996 and 2010, typically spends around 9 hours a day on screens, which is notably higher than the 7 hours and 4 minutes spent by the average American in 2024.
The odds of living to 80 in Australia are very high, with life expectancy around 81 for males and 85 for females, meaning many people will pass 80, and data from the early 2020s shows around half of men will reach 80, while women generally exceed it, with recent statistics indicating about 30% of men (and more women) reach their 90s, showing strong longevity trends for older Australians.
In the forward Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis, we used the random-effect inverse-variance weighted (IVW) method and identified that leisure screen time (LST) reduced childhood IQ levels (β = −0.35, 95 % CI: [0.60, 0.10], p = 5.59 ×10−3), while moderate to vigorous physical activity (PA) was beneficial for ...
Did you know the average person checks their phone 144 times a day?* That's a lot of distractions. Turning on features like “do not disturb” can help you stay focused,silence distraction and spend less time scrolling.
Can 3 days without a phone really make a difference? Yes, research shows measurable brain changes after 72 hours. Stress and anxiety decrease, sleep improves, focus sharpens, and social connections strengthen.
Prevent inappropriate web content
The 30 x 30 x 30 Rule: Every 30 minutes, look away from the screen for 30 seconds and focus on something at least 30 feet away. This technique helps keep the eyes moisturized and resets your focusing system.
According to Family Life and Child Development specialist and Early Childhood Education consultant Claudette Avelino-Tandoc, a child's screen dependency disorder may lead to insomnia, back pain, weight gain or loss, vision problems, headaches, anxiety, dishonesty, feelings of guilty, and loneliness.
Generation Z has been described as "better behaved and less hedonistic" than previous generations. They have fewer teenage pregnancies, consume less alcohol (but not necessarily other psychoactive drugs), and are more focused on school and job prospects.
It was shown that higher screen time increases the odds of depressive, anxiety, and stress symptoms, especially in adolescents who reported spending four hours/day or longer.
Safety Guides for Parents
Snapchat is a communication service designed for people ages 13 and up. It's popular with teenagers and young adults, who primarily use it to talk with their close friends, similar to the ways they interact in person.
Gen Z is buying dumb phones to combat digital addiction, improve mental health, and regain focus by reducing constant notifications and social media comparison, allowing for more present, intentional tech use with simpler devices that offer calls/texts without the overwhelming features of smartphones, leading to better sleep, productivity, and less anxiety, says www.abc.net.au. This trend is a conscious move towards digital wellness, prioritizing real-world connections and reducing "compare and despair" cycles from curated online lives, The Guardian.
There's no single "hardest" age, but many parents and experts point to ages 14-16 as particularly challenging due to intense hormonal shifts, social pressures, identity formation, increased desire for independence, and conflicts with parents as teens push boundaries, with some studies suggesting 14 (especially for girls) and 15 (for boys) are peak difficulty points.
Choose healthier screen time options for your child by referring to the Three Cs: content, child, and context. Content: Quality screen time matters. The rest of our tips in this post will help you determine what's “quality” content and what's not.
The 7-7-7 rule of parenting generally refers to dedicating three daily 7-minute periods of focused, undistracted connection with your child (morning, after school, bedtime) to build strong bonds and make them feel seen and valued. A less common interpretation involves three developmental stages (0-7 years of play, 7-14 years of teaching, 14-21 years of advising), while another offers a stress-relief breathing technique (7-second inhale, hold, exhale).
Tracking screen time is like counting calories: It is partially accurate but misleading. The World Health Organization and the American Academy of Pediatrics provide time-based guidelines for screens in young children: For babies and toddlers, keep the screens to Facetime family and friends.