Argumentative Essay: Don T Screen The Screen Time

Don’t Screen the Screen Time
Today, technology is all around us, with computers, laptops, and phones just at our fingertips, and though teens seem to be obsessed with their screens, their electronics time should not be very strictly controlled. It would be ridiculous and ineffective to try to keep kids’ heads out of their screens, exemplified by Chris Bergman as he states, “Sadly… I was limited to an hour of screen… But that only fueled covert binging” (Bergman, 1). His screen time was severely restricted, which only caused a higher craving for it. This shows that not only is the suppressing of electronics fruitless, but it actually causes a heightening of the need for a screen! Contrastingly, Bergman’s children have no constraints on their

screen time, and he notes that his children “[play] with their cousins” (Bergman, 1) instead of binging on SpongeBob like their other cousin. When kids aren’t restrained, they do not feel a need to be on their electronics whenever possible, further demonstrating that limiting screen time is more detrimental than not. However, it is true that technology has been a catalyst for countless “disorders” now being found in children, the most significant being the issue of sleep deprivation. Jeffrey Green explains that “screen time is shaving off hours of that much-needed sleep time” (Green, 2) and that “blue light from the screen” (Green, 2) is inducing these sleepless nights for children. Blue light causes our bodies to think that it is daytime and is responsible for keeping teens awake well into the night, showing that some constraints are still required. As a result, kids should not be able to use their phones for half an hour before bedtime to let their bodies adjust to the night. Ultimately, teens should have the freedom to use their electronics as they please as long as their sleep is not affected by it.