{"id":8814,"date":"2021-12-14T07:42:44","date_gmt":"2021-12-14T12:42:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/faithlens\/?p=8814"},"modified":"2021-12-07T10:41:34","modified_gmt":"2021-12-07T15:41:34","slug":"december-19-2021","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/faithlens\/december-19-2021\/","title":{"rendered":"December 19, 2021–Magnifying Lens"},"content":{"rendered":"

John Wertz, Blacksburg, VA<\/b><\/p>\n

Warm-up Question<\/b><\/h4>\n

Share a song that you really love and say why you love it.<\/p>\n

Magnifying Lens<\/b><\/h4>\n

Chances are you are looking at these words on a screen or that you looked at them on a screen prior to printing them out. According to a study released by the JAMA Pediatrics<\/a> in November 2021, screen time for teenagers has increased during the pandemic from 3.8 hours per day to 7.7 hours per day. The 7.7 hours per day is for recreation (gaming and videos) and social interaction (social media and texting).\u00a0 <\/span>That does not include online schooling, which can represent another 5-7 hours per day.<\/p>\n

With increased screen time, comes the potential for an increase in other problems. According to some studies<\/a> of adolescents, an increase in screen time correlated with an increase in stress and worry, along with a decline in the ability to cope with stress and worry.\u00a0 In\u00a0addition, l<\/span>arge amounts of screen time can impact sleep patterns and an individual’s eye health. \u00a0For example, a study<\/a> of 120,000 children 6-8 in China indicated that myopia (nearsightedness) had increase at a rate in 2020 that was 3 times higher than in previous years.<\/p>\n

Given the extraordinary number of screens in the world and the continued need to connect digitally because of the pandemic, it seems unlikely that levels of screen time will returning to pre-pandemic levels.\u00a0 <\/span>So how should we respond?\u00a0 <\/span>Dr. Michael Rich, director of the Digital Wellness Lab at Boston Children\u2019s Hospital and associate professor of pediatrics at Harvard Medical School suggests \u201cincreasing non-screen time throughout the day. This could happen at the dinner table, while doing homework, and especially during sleeping hours.\u201d<\/p>\n

Some experts noted that there are simple steps to preserve the eyes, such as having good lighting at home and following the 20\/20\/20 rule when using electronic devices. \u00a0That means taking a break every 20 minutes to look at an object at least 20 feet away for 20 consecutive seconds. While it will take years of study to determine the exact impact that increased screen time is having on our lives and our health, the initial studies certainly seem to indicate that managing our screen time more actively is an excellent idea.<\/p>\n

Discussion Questions<\/b><\/h4>\n