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Screen Time for Autistic Youth: Striking a Balance

In 2018, a report revealed that 95% of teens had access to a smartphone. Indeed, it’s not unusual for children to gain access to a smartphone by age 10, and many if not most are able to interact with screens of various kinds at home or at school before then as well. While “screen time” is a complex and nuanced topic, it’s undeniable that it is a part of our culture and day-to-day lives. 

One big challenge in figuring out how screen time affects the wellbeing of children and adolescents, or people of any age for that matter, is that screens are everywhere and interactions with them can take many different forms. Reading, watching shows, playing games, and interacting with social media are all dramatically different activities that can have different impacts, depending on how and when we use them. 

There is no clear conclusion about how much screen time is acceptable vs. unhealthy. On average, adults in the United States spend about half of every day interacting with screens, and cutting-edge research shows that an average of 4 hours per day has been reported even as early as 9-10 years old. This increases to almost 8 hours per day by the age of 12-13. This is clearly at odds with the increasingly-outdated recommendation for a maximum of 2 hours of screen time per day! Every family must determine their own guidelines for screen time at home, and those should ideally be based upon each individual’s circumstances rather than arbitrary rules. 

This blog post will review potential pros and cons of different screen-based activities, as well as suggestions for how to find and create a healthy balance. 

Considerations for Autistic Youth

Screen time has increased since 2020 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and the associated decrease in opportunities for activities and social interactions outside of the home, and a 2012 study found that autistic children spend more time on screens than their allistic peers. However, this may have changed in the past decade as screen use has become more common. Even so, autistic children might prefer online interactions because it provides more time to understand social cues and think about their responses, which can be difficult in face-to-face situations. 

It’s also the case though that digital media and the internet in general allow for easy access to one’s special interests, the repetition and predictable nature of video games can be pleasant and comforting, and social media provides more opportunities for interacting with other members of the autistic community. Screen time is not just an escape or a mindless activity – it can be a rich and varied part of our world! 

With all that being said, it is true that children’s brains and development are uniquely sensitive in ways that adults’ are not, and the impact that screen time can have at younger ages is still not fully understood. But here’s something we do know: social rewards become more powerful around the age of 10-12 due to increased receptors for hormones like oxytocin and dopamine in the brain. The immediacy and constant activation of these receptors provided by technology is something that we will no doubt be carefully studying for decades to come. 

Even now in the present day, though, I don’t believe it’s controversial to suggest that the immediacy of reinforcement available from screens of all kinds can have addictive properties. However, addiction is partly characterized by the harm it causes in different areas of one’s life, such as damaged relationships, bad grades, or physical harm. So, does excessive screentime produce such effects? 

Potential Pros and Cons

While this topic could easily fill multiple books, I’ve conducted a brief literature review to help families weigh the potential pros and cons of screen time and find a healthy balance that works for them.  

  • Sleep: A recent study found only a small increase in sleep problems for those who used screens more often throughout the day. Overall, “every additional hour spent watching videos meant less sleep,” but this is affected by when screen time occurs as well as “sleep hygiene” in general. For example, children and adolescents who have access to screens in their bedrooms may experience more sleep disturbances; other studies support this as well. 
  • Physical Activity: Until we have the kind of physically-interactive virtual reality that we now see only in science fiction, spending more time with screens means less time spent moving our bodies. But of course, this would be just as much an issue with reading, writing, drawing, or any other stationary hobby. Interestingly, “youth engaging mostly in social media (e.g., video chatting), compared to other types of screen media (e.g., streaming movies), reported more physical activity.” 
  • Social Skills: Concerns about computers making kids antisocial are (or should be) a thing of the past. Most social interaction at all ages takes place online now, and healthy use of social media can make pre-teens and adolescents feel more connected, included, and confident. However, social interaction online is unique – it is permanently available to be referenced, and often public. According to a 2022 study, children who use social media at younger ages may be at a higher risk of experiencing harassment and increases in inappropriate behavior towards others online. 

Suggestions for Striking a Balance

As has been the theme throughout this blog post, moderation is key when it comes to technology, just like most things in life. While screen time isn’t all bad and shouldn’t be eliminated, unlimited and unmonitored access isn’t the answer either. Even simply monitoring your child’s use of technology, with no explicit rules in place, can lead to decreased exposure to mature content and time spent using devices overall! On the other hand, overly-restrictive rules can lead to needless conflict and increased arguments amongst siblings. 

A good compromise is to reach an agreement regarding when screens can be used. For example, limitations might be set when you spend time together as a family, when it’s time to study or do homework, or near bedtime. You might also create a schedule for taking breaks – more and more, all kinds of screen-based activities are eliminating cues that prompt people to take a break and do something else. Streaming shows automatically play the next episode or include cliffhangers that encourage binge-watching. Games allow limitless earning of points and present bite-sized levels one after the other. You could scroll through social media platforms like Instagram and TikTok without ever reaching the end of the novel content!  

Especially for younger children, modeling healthy use of technology is important. This might include spending time with your child on social media, blocking accounts with inappropriate content and following ones that share diverse and uplifting messages. In general, “co-viewing” media is helpful – whether that takes the form of watching YouTube together, playing video games, or just sitting side by side as you check in on your social media accounts. As noted above, another important skill to model is simply putting down the screen to engage in different activities. 

Helping your child to develop critical thinking and media literacy skills can help prevent self-esteem and body image issues that may otherwise result from use of the internet. The Southwest Autism Research & Resource Center (SARRC) provides an incredibly helpful online safety manual for autistic teens and adults, and the American Psychological Association (APA)’s chief science officer has provided an excellent list of guidelines for supporting children’s use of social media. 

Looking to the Future

Our understanding of the effects of technology use on children, teens, and society in general, is growing every day. We are still too early in our technological boom to know for certain what the outcomes of increased screen time will be at different stages of life. Most research to date has focused on older adolescents, despite the fact that children are gaining access to technology at much younger ages. As Dr. Eva Telzer, director of the Developmental Social Neuroscience Lab at the University of North Carolina, stated in a recent interview, “Undoubtedly there’s a link between teens’ social experiences online and the way their brains respond to the environment, but it’s something we’re slowly working to unpack.”  

In 2015, the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study became the largest long-term study of brain development and child health in the United States, with over ten thousand children participating from age 9-10 into young adulthood. A variety of childhood experiences such as video games and social media are being studied, and I’ve referenced many of their outcomes that they’ve discovered so far throughout this blog post. In a few short years, we will surely know more about how to strike a healthy balance between our digital and analog worlds. 

In the meantime, a great resource for further reference is https://www.teensandtech.org/, which includes a handbook about adolescent digital media use and mental health as well as a library of short videos with tips for how technology and social media can be used in healthier ways. If we at Waypoints can help to support your family in creating and maintaining guidelines for screen time, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us at info@waypoints.life. 

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