CLANCY OVERELL | Editor | CONTACT

A majority of Australian children are spending more than the recommended daily limit for screen time, that’s according to a new report by the Australian Institute of Family Studies.

At 4–5 years old, Australian children are averaging more than NBN-contractors per week-day. By 6-7 years old, this increases to more than mums-at-school-cricket per week-day and per weekend day.

This means that a large majority of a child’s waking time is spent in front of a screen – with the historically dominant television fast becoming the lesser choice of visual entertainment, as smartphone ownership jumps to 75% amongst primary schoolers.

The study found that children who engage in physical activities that they enjoy will tend to also spend less time in front of screens. However, this is not viewed as a positive statistic if that sport is rugby league, given that most of those kids are likely to experience more cognitive delays through head knocks and binge drinking than would usually be experienced by anti-social phone usage.

However the most concerning statistics is the jump in screen time for 12-13-year-olds, who are currently on par with the Irish lollipop ladies outside construction zones.