Why "Screen Time" Shouldn't be a Bad Word
Heidi Lathrem 
"Screen time" is just a catch-all to describe a new way to learn and interact with the world around us.
Why "Screen Time" Shouldn't be a Bad Word
First off I want to clarify that I know that "screen time" is technically two words. But we hear these words together so often, looming over our parenting plans and analyses, that they might as well be one.
Coming back together after months of social distancing, I heard time and time again the sheepish statement, "My kids got too much screen time" – almost like a guilty confession to eating all the cookies or sneaking out to go to a secret party.
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Not All "Screen Time" is Created Equal
Just like you wouldn't want your kiddo reading graphic novels – or even fiction – all day long, you most certainly wouldn't limit "reading" altogether. To do so would impact your child's access to textbooks, the note you left them in lunch, and the instructions on the mac and cheese box. Similarly, a "screen" is just a medium capable of delivering online learning tools, Internet-based research, FaceTime with grandma, and virtual classes, etc.; as well as social time with friends, gaming, and videos. So you may want to sit down and assess exactly what types of activities constitute "screen time" in your home, and how those should be divided up by type and perhaps limited in a more discriminating manner.
Digital Natives
Kids today grow up with smart phones, tablets, and devices at every turn; as opposed to the parent generation who had to painstakingly plod through DOS, move to Windows, then adapt to touch screens, mobile, and beyond. This native and instinctive ability to navigate the tech world will shift into job skills as kids enter young adulthood. Fresh graduates who were not given sufficient chance to tinker and experiment with tech as they grow may ultimately start at a disadvantage in finding employment and take years to catch up on what will then be considered basic tech interfacing skills. These skills require "screen time" to practice and hone.
A World of Possibilities
Instead of shuffling through card catalogs and dusty encyclopedia articles, our kiddos now have – quite literally – a world of possibilities and opportunities at the touch of a finger. If my kid has a question about nearly any subject – anything at all – experts and passionate hobbyists can be mere seconds away with staggeringly high-quality images, charts, graphics, and illustrations that can show off concepts and details never before accessible to learners throughout history. All this is made handily available through "screen time."
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Learning Together
It's easy to just teach the familiar subjects exactly the way we remember being taught; the same books, the same brands, the same methods. New opportunities (such as online classes, web-based practice, asynchronous learning, and video classes) can sometimes come with fear and uncertainty for parents as we try to guide kids safely through learning in a way that's completely foreign to everything we know. Change is hard, and this new world simply didn't exist when we were growing up. In order to take advantage of all the benefit that "screen time" offers, we may have to do a lot of learning alongside our kids. As many have pointed out, the world we grew up in simply doesn't exist anymore. We need to prepare our kids – and ourselves – for the modern world and both the near and distant future. Not only that, but we need to do so while instilling traditional biblical values and love for "Jesus Christ, who is the same yesterday, today, and forever." (Heb. 13:8)
Exercising Caution
As Christians, we know that this fallen world is not our home. We are reminded time and time again that as we pass through on the way to eternity we are to use spiritual discernment in order to avoid partaking in or unnecessarily exposing ourselves to evil. The problem of a corrupt society is not even a new thing, as can be seen from Paul's first century writing wherein he admonishes, "So then, be careful how you walk, not as unwise people but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil." (Eph. 5:15-16) And today, just like in Paul's time, we are instructed to navigate this evil world using spiritual discernment, rejecting the evil, and seizing every opportunity to use the good for our benefit. "So you will walk in the way of good people And keep to the paths of the righteous." (Prov. 2:20)
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In short, "screen time" is just a catch-all to describe a new way to learn and interact with the world around us. When used with proper moral boundaries in moderation – just like with books, magazines, curricula, and every other learning opportunity – "screen time" is one more highly effective tool that can be used for our enormous benefit.
Categories: : Christian, Education, homeschooling