Digital Distress: Doctors Warn Parents About Digital Overload

Medical experts are warning parents to look out for digital distress, a sign that children and teens are getting too much screen time.

With the summer in full swing, kids are undoubtedly going to be on screens a lot more and that has doctors warning parents to be on the lookout for signs of digital distress. Experts say sometimes things such as stress, anxiety and emotional strain aren’t just the side effects of being a teen but are caused by the excessive use of digital technology.

Dr. Jennifer Zumarraga is the Medical Director for Childhood Adolescent Psychiatry at El Camino Health. She says when she first started working with the hospital’s Aspire program in 2010, digital media wasn’t a huge issue with teens. However, with the increased use of smartphones, tablets, laptops, and other devices, it has become a problem, and oftentimes, parents don’t know how to recognize the signs.

“We need to get the word out for parents to be really cognizant and take this seriously and be on top of it,” said Dr. Zumarraga.

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Dr. Zumarraga says the biggest issue is that digital media affects the brain and the areas of “decision making” and “impulsivity.”

For parents, the goal isn’t to restrict access as much as to talk to kids about how to use digital media successfully.

“That’s where it starts, the communication. Knowing what your child is doing online and their habits,” said Dr. Zumarraga. “Talking to them about the effects of digital media, talking to them about their future goals and how, if they’re spending hours and hours of time looking at different things, then it is taking away from other activities that they could be doing.”

She says it’s important to validate that not all digital time is “bad.”

“I think we really need to validate the positive things that they’re getting from social media, because it is a wonderful way to communicate with friends, to get information, to see other family,” continued Dr. Zumarraga. “It’s just really the discussion about balance is what we need to be talking to our kids about.”

Ultimately, it’s about creating a digital media plan that includes breaks and sticking to those breaks. What’s more, it’s about modeling. Parents need to set examples by taking similar digital media breaks.

Parents worried about digital distress should watch out for irregular sleep patterns such as too much or too little sleep, isolation, aggression or disinterest in usual activities.

Dr. Zumarraga says even if you do not see signs of digital distress in your teen or child, talking to them about digital safety could be a good starting point.

“We’re so careful about preparing our children for going out [into] the physical world, but not as careful about the digital world,” said Dr. Zumarraga. “We really do need to be very careful about the digital world. We always talk about just safety issues and not putting your information out there for anyone … They get caught up with things, with their friends. I think the communication with parents, providers, teachers and coaches, it’s really important, because they don’t really think about the ramifications in the future all the time.”