Classroom Screen Safety featured on BAM! Radio Network Blog, Edwords


First, do no harm
Essay examines parents' expectations of care when children are at school, including protection from known screen safety health risks.

For the latest medical references regarding classroom screen hazards, please scroll down. This page also offers FURTHER DETAILS.

Getting Ready for the MD General Assembly

If you are not already familiar with your legislative representatives, here is a link that will help you identify and contact them regarding classroom screen safety in Maryland classrooms: http://mgaleg.maryland.gov/webmga/frmmain.aspx?pid=legisrpage

As soon as the bill is filed, the bill number and sponsors will be listed here, and made known through Twitter.

The bill will travel to a House committee for a hearing.  The hearing schedule will also be listed here with links to the committee members. It's important to contact your legislators to make sure that they support this effort, and that they also reach out to committee members to vote for it.

It is anticipated that Delegate Arentz's bill will be cross-filed in the Senate, so please be sure to contact your Senator(s) as well as your Delgate(s).

Thanks to all who are following on Twitter and sharing this information through your own Facebook pages. Here are this week's research links:

A new Johns Hopkins study finds digital device use linked to rise in depression among teens, especially girls. Researchers "speculate that greater exposure to known depression risk factors such as problematic cell phone use, including cyberbullying, may play a role."

Screen time has long been associated with the rise in obesity. UCLA reports that over 12.7 million children and adolescents are overweight or obese. "And it’s not just a cosmetic issue: obesity increases the risk of health problems such as asthma, heart disease and type 2 diabetes."

The University of Maryland's Dr. Michael Brody examines some of the psychological impacts of screen time in his book, Seductive Screens:   "Is children’s media entertaining and educational, or a Trojan  horse  bearing  hyper-consumerism, violence, and poor health? "

Primary Care Optometry News (PCON) explains how children are more seriously impacted by the damaging blue light from screens: "An iPad held at 8 inches by a child actually has about four times the intensity than if the device were held at 16 inches by an adult ... this is a critical point to consider regarding the dangers of blue light exposure."

As mentioned last week, the University of Maryland revealed worldwide screen addiction among students six years ago. Read their report, entitled "the world UNPLUGGED," here, and then contact the directer, Susan Moeller, on Twitter @sdmoeller. Let's hope the University of Maryland will weigh in on this critical subject and support MD classroom screen safety.

This week's update

Delegate Arentz's classroom screen safety bill has been submitted to Legislative Services; a draft should be available this coming week.

Many thanks to those who have followed the Twitter account (@screensandkids). Thank you for retweeting the research that supports the need for medically sound classroom screen safety regulations to protect Maryland students from harm. Nearly every day, new scientific evidence is uncovered that illustrates the need for clinicians to protect students who are now required to use a digital device for classwork and homework.

University of MD revealed worldwide screen addiction among students 6 years ago
The Philip Merrill College of Journalism's  International Center for Media & the Public Agenda (ICMPA): "Students around the world repeatedly used the term ‘addiction’ to speak about their dependence on media. “Media is my drug; without it I was lost,” said one student from the UK. “I am an addict. How could I survive 24 hours without it?”" 

JAMA Pediatrics: Latest study on digital devices and sleeplessness
" A systematic review and meta-analysis showed strong and consistent evidence of an association between access to or the use of devices and reduced sleep quantity and quality, as well as increased daytime sleepiness... An integrated approach among teachers, health care professionals, and parents is needed to improve sleep hygiene."

Another good reason for DHMH classroom safety guidelines: 
volume levels on headphones and earbuds
"Despite claims that kids headphones limit volume to 85 decibels (the level the World Health Organization considers “safer”), up to one-third of the kids headphones we tested exceeded that level when measured with pink noise, allowing higher volumes—sometimes much higher. " ... "Bigger kids (4 years and up) have different requirements than little ones." - The Wirecutter (New York Times affiliate)

Mont. Co. Students are asking for help with mental illness issues
"Students Organize Mental Health Week at Maryland High School: Call for more awareness surrounding mental illness"

Support from Montgomery County
A mom from Montgomery County urges parents to get involved in protecting students during the General Assembly session: 
 "What can we do to protect our kids? 

• Buy blue light filters for all your child’s devices. They are easy to affix and are relatively affordable. Be sure to look for those that block 100% of blue light.

• Encourage kids to look away or walk away every 20 minutes or so. 

• Educate your child about the risks.

• Support legislation that determines medical guidelines for safe use of digital devices in Maryland classrooms. Contact your elected officials to share your concern and support."

More pediatric research on sleep deprivation and digital devices
Remember that online classwork means online homework, sometimes late in the evening, because of after-school activities:

"Access to and night-time use of electronic media has been associated  with  shortened  sleep  duration  and  excess  body  weight  (Chahal  et  al.,  2013).  Children  with  increasingly  more  electronic  media  devices  in  their  bedrooms  reported  shorter  sleep  durations,  and  students  who  used  electronic  devices  on  most  or  all  nights  reported  sleeping  less  and  having  more  sleep  difficulties."

New York Times health columnist warns about addiction: 
Hooked on our Smartphones
"The near-universal access to digital technology, starting at ever younger ages, is transforming modern society in ways that can have negative effects on physical and mental health, neurological development and personal relationships..."

Education Week: Warning Sounded on Tech Interrupting Student Sleep
"A recent meta-analysis by British researchers has brought renewed attention to the issue, calling increased use of mobile devices at bedtime a "major public-health concern" for children and teenagers."

Please share this information on your Facebook pages, and follow this effort on Twitter: @screensandkids.

MD Classroom Screen Safety 

Press Conference Video

Paula Poundstone joins local advocate to support legislation that will direct DHMH to create screen safety guidelines for Maryland classrooms.

 

This week's update
A draft of the classroom screen safety bill sponsored by Delegate Steve Arentz will be available very soon, so please follow @screensandkids for legislative updates. This bill will direct the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene to create classroom safety guidelines for digital devices. It will protect Maryland students who now face known health risks and avoidable injuries because they are required to use devices every day in school, just as OSHA has protected workers from many of the same issues, since the mid-1990s.

While significant research has already established the health risks associated with daily computer use among children, more studies are routinely published and referenced. The following research emerged just this week:

Blue Light is Adversely Affecting Our Sight & Health, According to an Eye-Opening New Survey by the Vision Council
Perhaps most concerning are the effects blue light and digital eye strain are having on children. Among parents in the survey, 76.5% indicate their child(ren) receives more than two hours of screen time per day, and 55.6% say their child(ren) experiences at least one of the following after two hours of screen time: headaches; neck/shoulder pain; eye strain, dry or irritated eyes; reduced attention span; poor behavior; or irritability. 

An Overlooked Factor in the Childhood Obesity Epidemic
This eye-opening research implies that reducing the amount of time your child spends on a computer, watching television, or playing on a smartphone or tablet may prove to be a more powerful intervention to treat and prevent childhood obesity and related health concerns than previously realized. The study: http://jpubhealth.oxfordjournals.org/content/30/2/153.short  

Lots of teen screen time tied to obesity
Too much television time has long been linked to childhood obesity, but a U.S. study suggests that the connection holds true for smaller screens too, such as computers, gaming consoles, tablets and smartphones.  

What Smartphones Do to Children’s Eyes
Smartphones pose dry-eye risk for kids. New study underscores needs for comprehensive eye exams for school success.

Screen Time Works as Well as Sedatives in Calming Kids Down
 "... the levels of anxiety among both kids and their parents were similar in both groups, meaning electronic games were just as effective as the drugs." The study: https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2016-08/wfos-iae082516.php

Using iPads to pacify children may harm their development, say scientists
Children throwing tantrums should be given time to calm down on their own rather than distracted with tablets or smartphones, say researchers.

Eye health 'time bomb' as kids stay indoors, increase screen exposure
"It's a big public health issue in many countries," Associate Professor Sankaridurg said.

Researchers have found that using social media makes kids less happy in almost every way
The study found that the more time kids spent chatting on social networks, the less positive they felt about school work and which school they attended, their appearance, and their family. They were also less happy with life overall. The study:  http://ftp.iza.org/dp10412.pdf
 
Please follow @screensandkids for timely updates as Maryland leads the nation in screen safety for our children.  A Facebook page is not forthcoming, so please post and share with your colleagues, friends and family: www.screensandkids.us

Comments by Cindy Eckard
Classroom Computer Safety Press Conference
Friday, December 23, 2016

Thanks for joining us today. Many thanks to Ward One Alderman Joe Budge for being here to welcome Paula to Annapolis. Of course, thank you, Paula Poundstone for bringing a national spotlight to this critical issue.  I have a gift for you, filled with Maryland tokens of our appreciation.

I'd also like to take a moment to thank Laura Price and the entire Rams Head crew who have so graciously and enthusiastically hosted this event.

I worked for decades in high tech communications, so I've long been aware of the dangers of screen time.  When I learned that my child would have to use a laptop for school, I assumed there were already safety regulations in place.  I was shocked to learn that Maryland students have none, even though OSHA has protected workers from the same dangers since the 1990s.  There is nothing to prevent our kids from being strapped to a computer all day long at school, and suffering from a variety of health issues because of it.

Medical researchers are pointing to an array of serious health issues that threaten children who are using digital devices. What's important to understand is that children are still developing, so they react differently than adults do, and in some cases, suffer more permanent damage becasue of screen time. 

For instance, the pigment in an adult eye acts a little bit like sunglasses, so adult eyes have more protection from the screen's damaging blue light.  A child's eye hasn't developed that pigment yet, so that blue light is going straight to his retina. Over time, this can blind a child. And because the schools are demanding ever more screen time, this is a serious public health threat.

But it's just one of the dangers our kids now face at school. Myopia is epidemic in our country and growing. The USC Eye Institute knows why: screen time.  Serious myopia brings more risks later in life: cataracts, glaucoma and detched retinas.

The screens' blue light also suppresses melatonin, a hormone that promotes sleep. When the kids have to do homework on these devices, they have trouble falling asleep. Kids act differently when they're tired, according to the Sleep Foundation, who reports that children get wound up and over-active instead of sluggish. As a result, many are misdiagnosed with ADHD, when the children were simply exhausted. Obesity is also linked to sleeplessness, and with obesity, comes another host of concerns, like diabetes.

And increasingly, scientists are observing psychological problems emerging from daily device use among children: addiction, depression and anxiety are on the rise. Families are being torn apart, and lives are being ruined by the dependence these children are developing on their virtual world. A world that the schools are encouraging more and more each day, as lesson plans all move to the screen.

How much screen time is appropriate? I have no idea. No one does right now. That's why we need the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene to determine safe thresholds for each stage of development for our children. These are serious health threats to our sons and daughters. Parents are demanding that their children are taken out of harm's way, and protected from the known and avoidable risks Maryland students now face in school.

I've also asked the American Academy of Pediatrics lead researcher to look into this issue, since their most recent set of guidelines failed to mention the use of screens for school work. She responded: "Our current guidelines are focused on the media environment at home, and parents’ role in this environment as media role models and mentors... our AAP guidelines are quite explicit in focusing on media use for entertainment (not for educational purposes) at home. " 

So please know that those new American Academy of Pediatrics guidelines have nothing to do with the situation in our schools.

Delegate Steve Arentz is my hero and should be yours too. He is taking this issue on, and will sponsor the legislation in the upcoming General Assembly session that will direct the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene to do its job and protect Maryland's most vulnerable citizens from being hurt by their school equipment. We must teach our children how to compete in an electronic world, without harming them in the process.

Legislative updates and research documents will be posted at www.screensandkids.us and I hope you'll follow this issue on Twitter @screensandkids.

Thanks again. Happy holidays.

WBAL TV coverage of the 
Paula Poundstone Press Conference
on Maryland classroom screen safety legislation