THEY CAN'T
How parents can protect children from mature and adult content
Experts highlight key strategies to protect kids from R-rated movies and violent video games
Toronto, ON – As children's screen time continues to rise, so does their exposure to age-inappropriate content, including R-rated movies and violent video games. A new study published in BMC Pediatrics underscores the critical role parents play in shaping their children’s media consumption.
As child media consumption increases along with their exposure to mature media content, a new study finds that parent media practices play a key role in shaping preteens’ consumption of mature video games and R-rated movies.
Researchers found that parents’ own screen habits—such as using screens in front of their children and allowing screens during meals or bedtime—significantly increased the likelihood of preteens engaging with mature media.
“Bedroom screen use emerged as the strongest predictor of mature media consumption,” says lead author Jason M. Nagata, MD, Associate Professor of Pediatrics at the University of California, San Francisco. “When children have unrestricted access to screens, particularly in the privacy of their bedrooms, it opens the door to unchecked exposure to age-inappropriate content.”
On the other hand, proactive parental monitoring and clear media rules were linked to lower consumption of mature content. Interestingly, the study found that using screen time as a reward was associated with less mature media exposure, while taking screens away as a punishment was linked to more exposure—suggesting that how parents regulate screen time matters.
“Our findings reinforce the importance of setting clear, consistent rules around media use,” says Nagata. “The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that families create a family media plan to set limits and encourage screen-free time, especially at meals and bedtime.”
The study analyzed data from 10,054 children ages 12-13 in the nationwide Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study, the largest long-term study of brain development in the U.S. A related ABCD study recently revealed that nearly two-thirds of preteens (ages 11-12) have underage social media accounts, despite most platforms requiring users to be at least 13.
“Given that R-rated movie and mature video game consumption by teens has been linked to poor academic performance, mental health struggles, substance use, and behavioral issues, this study reveals the critical role that parents play in influencing children’s screen use patterns,” says co-author Kyle T. Ganson, PhD, assistant professor at the University of Toronto’s Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work. “We hope our findings will empower parents by providing actionable steps they can take to help their teens develop healthier screen use habits.”
“One key factor in a child’s exposure to mature content is how much screen time their parents use,” says Nagata. “Children often model their screen habits after their parents, so setting a positive example can make a big difference.”
Journal
BMC Pediatrics
Article Title
Associations between media parenting practices and early adolescent consumption of R-rated movies and mature-rated video games
Article Publication Date
4-Feb-2025
School bans alone not enough to tackle negative impacts of phone and social media use
First study of its kind finds that restrictive school policies don’t lead to lower phone and social media use overall, nor better outcomes among students
Students attending schools that ban the use of phones throughout the school day aren’t necessarily experiencing better mental health and wellbeing, as the first worldwide study of its kind has found that just banning smartphones is not enough to tackle their negative impacts.
In a landmark study published today (Wednesday 5 Feb) in Lancet Regional Health Europe, 1227 students from 30 schools across England provided data about smartphone and social media usage and a range of mental health, wellbeing and other outcomes. Among the schools that took part in the study, 20 had various forms of restrictive phone policies in place.
The study, which was funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), found that there was no difference in outcomes for students who attend schools that ban smartphones throughout the school day, including:
- Mental wellbeing, anxiety and depression
- Physical Activity and Sleep
- Educational Outcomes – English and Maths attainment and levels of disruptive classroom behaviour
Smartphone bans in schools did lead to a slight decrease in students using phones (of approximately 40 minutes) and social media (approx. 30 minutes) in school, but the study suggests that the impact is small and that school policies banning recreational phone use didn’t lead to a meaningful reduction in the overall time spent using phones and social media.
Dr Victoria Goodyear, Associate Professor at the University of Birmingham and lead author of the study said:
“This is the first worldwide study of its kind to evaluate the impact of school phone policies on adolescent mental health and wellbeing, and other health and educational outcomes.
“We did find a link between more time spent on phones and social media and worse outcomes, with worse mental wellbeing and mental health outcomes, less physical activity and poorer sleep, lower educational attainment and a greater level of disruptive classroom behaviour.
“This suggests that reducing this time spent on phones is an important focus. But we need to do more than focus on schools alone, and consider phone use within and outside of school, across a whole day and the whole week.”
Data from students was collected more than a 12-month period ending in November 2023 from 20 schools with restrictive phone policies and 10 schools with permissive policies, where a phone could be used at breaks, lunch or in certain zones (such as outside areas). The 2:1 ratio of restrictive and permissive schools was used, as among schools in the study sampling area, the majority (n=1245) had restrictive policies while few (n=96) had permissive policies.
Health and related outcomes included validated measures of mental wellbeing, anxiety and depressive symptoms, educational attainment in English and Maths, and disruptive classroom behaviour, and objective measures of physical activity and sleep.
Among all students in both permissive and restrictive policy schools, smartphone use was on average between 4-6 hours per day.
Professor Miranda Pallan from the University of Birmingham, and a senior author of the paper said:
“Our study suggests that school policies are not the silver bullet for preventing the detrimental impacts of smartphone and social media use.
“The paper shows that restrictive policies on recreational phone use in schools do not lead to better outcomes among students, but that addressing overall phone use should be a priority for improving health and wellbeing among adolescents.”
Journal
The Lancet Regional Health - Europe
Method of Research
Observational study
Subject of Research
People
Article Title
School phone policies and their association with mental wellbeing, phone use, and social media use (SMART Schools): a cross-sectional observational study
Article Publication Date
4-Feb-2025
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