The anxiety of ‘screen time’ – should parents really be worried?

In October, REDI’s node of the ARC Centre of Excellence for the Digital Child hosted the fifth public seminar in the Digital Child x Australian Centre for the Moving Image (ACMI) seminar series.

The seminar, ‘Screen time anxieties: Changing the conversation around kids and tech’, brought together three experts for a dynamic discussion around ‘screen time’ guidelines – and how those impact and fit into the reality of everyday family life.

Panellists Dr Billy Garvey from Guiding Growing Minds and the popular ‘Pop Culture Parenting’ podcast, Fiona Holder from Playgroup Victoria and Daniel Donahoo from Project Rockit each shared their views on how parents and caregivers can navigate the public discussion and advice around children and technology, when conflicting advice and information is often framed as critical to their child’s health and future.

‘The event was a great chance to explore the pressures and expectations that are often bound up in talking about kids and screens,’ said Dr Kate Mannell, event convener and panel chair.

‘And also to experiment with a different kind of conversation that starts from really trying to understand families in all their diversity, before thinking about what technology use means in each family context.’

‘Drawing on their personal and professional experiences, each of the panellists really demonstrated what a more family-centred, empathetic, nuanced conversation around kids and tech could look like.’

L-R: Dr Kate Mannell, Daniel Donahoo, Dr Billy Garvey, Fiona Holder

View the seminar recording:

For other seminars in the series visit the Digital Child Youtube channel.