The construction of screen time
(2022) Media breakdown and recovery- Abstract
- ‘Screen time’ has become both a discursive and conceptual construction which has been at the centre of debates and discussions during, most prominently, the last decade, not least amongst parents. The concept evokes questions of control, perceived harmful effects and restrictions. Large global health players like the World Health Organisation have even articulated recommendations on screen time, aimed predominantly at parents of small children up to five years of age (WHO 2019). The use of screen time as a catch-all concept for the control of media technology is seldom discussed on a discursive and conceptual basis. In everyday language use, screen time is often used to discuss the effects of media technology on children. However, screen... (More)
- ‘Screen time’ has become both a discursive and conceptual construction which has been at the centre of debates and discussions during, most prominently, the last decade, not least amongst parents. The concept evokes questions of control, perceived harmful effects and restrictions. Large global health players like the World Health Organisation have even articulated recommendations on screen time, aimed predominantly at parents of small children up to five years of age (WHO 2019). The use of screen time as a catch-all concept for the control of media technology is seldom discussed on a discursive and conceptual basis. In everyday language use, screen time is often used to discuss the effects of media technology on children. However, screen time omits what is often linked to the perceived harms, namely the content that is consumed on the technology in question, whether it be tablets, smart phones, television or computers. This discussion often negates the positive aspects of screen use, like that of improved literacy. Moreover, the warnings around screen time and excessive screen use have been theorised to not “produce much beyond parental guilt” (Hartshorn et al. 2021), leading to parental distress and, in the worst of cases, break-downs.
It is then of upmost importance to understand what we are actually talking about when talking about screen time. In exploring the concept, through empirical material found through parenting websites as well as interviews with Swedish parents, we can gain a deeper understanding of what the discourse around screen time actually entails, and what we mean when using the concept. The material (screen) and temporal (time) connotations actually leave out what we often mean is the most harmful, namely content (ex. violence). This undertaking is part of my on-going phD project on good parenthood and media technology. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/25e3087e-64f4-45c6-ada9-3dd10b38da79
- author
- Johansson, Magnus LU
- organization
- publishing date
- 2022-03-16
- type
- Contribution to conference
- publication status
- unpublished
- subject
- keywords
- screen time, discourse
- conference name
- Media breakdown and recovery
- conference location
- Lund, Sweden
- conference dates
- 2022-03-16 - 2022-03-16
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- 25e3087e-64f4-45c6-ada9-3dd10b38da79
- date added to LUP
- 2024-11-19 20:36:44
- date last changed
- 2025-04-04 14:36:06
@misc{25e3087e-64f4-45c6-ada9-3dd10b38da79,
abstract = {{‘Screen time’ has become both a discursive and conceptual construction which has been at the centre of debates and discussions during, most prominently, the last decade, not least amongst parents. The concept evokes questions of control, perceived harmful effects and restrictions. Large global health players like the World Health Organisation have even articulated recommendations on screen time, aimed predominantly at parents of small children up to five years of age (WHO 2019). The use of screen time as a catch-all concept for the control of media technology is seldom discussed on a discursive and conceptual basis. In everyday language use, screen time is often used to discuss the effects of media technology on children. However, screen time omits what is often linked to the perceived harms, namely the content that is consumed on the technology in question, whether it be tablets, smart phones, television or computers. This discussion often negates the positive aspects of screen use, like that of improved literacy. Moreover, the warnings around screen time and excessive screen use have been theorised to not “produce much beyond parental guilt” (Hartshorn et al. 2021), leading to parental distress and, in the worst of cases, break-downs.<br/>It is then of upmost importance to understand what we are actually talking about when talking about screen time. In exploring the concept, through empirical material found through parenting websites as well as interviews with Swedish parents, we can gain a deeper understanding of what the discourse around screen time actually entails, and what we mean when using the concept. The material (screen) and temporal (time) connotations actually leave out what we often mean is the most harmful, namely content (ex. violence). This undertaking is part of my on-going phD project on good parenthood and media technology.}},
author = {{Johansson, Magnus}},
keywords = {{screen time; discourse}},
language = {{eng}},
month = {{03}},
title = {{The construction of screen time}},
year = {{2022}},
}