Yes, the huge firms pushing unsuitable content must be regulated. But until they are, adults can model the positive use of tech
Dr Kaitlyn Regehr is the programme director of digital humanities at University College London
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his summer the technology secretary, Peter Kyle, announced he was considering a two-hour “screen time” cap on children’s use of social media apps – a proposal that is not just insufficient, it’s outdated.
Though appropriately placed at the start of the summer holiday – a time when kids’ screen time can increase, along with the onus on parents to ensure the safety of such engagement – Kyle’s announcement is linked to somewhat stale screen time guidance. We should indeed be thinking about moderating time on screens, but the proposed cap addresses only the quantity of consumption, not the quality. Fortunately, as someone who lectures on digital literacy (and is a mother), I can tell you there are some ways to push back and create healthier habits for children this summer – even if the government doesn’t seem to have caught up with them yet.
