Increasing screen time for children a public health concern: U.S. advisory

Increasingly harmful screen time among children and teenagers has become a public health concern in the U.S., a new surgeon general’s advisory warned Wednesday, with negative mental and physical impacts that compound with age. The advisory urges a whole-of-society approach to addressing the issue, from delaying kids’ access to devices and online platforms for as long as possible to instituting school bans, modelling healthy online behaviour and promoting physical activity. It warns that exposure to screens — including phones, tablets, computers and video games — is often starting before a chil…