Online learning has become the new normal. Elementary schools in London and surrounding areas have been learning online for almost a month since the stay-at-home order was put in place. However, some negative aspects come along with it.
Dr. Emma Duerden is a professor at Western University and is doing a study on the impacts of online learning on children aged 6 to 12.
“One of the major adverse outcomes was the increase in screen time. The Canadian Pediatric Society recommends that children over the age of 5 have about 2 hours of screen time a day. We found that during the pandemic, that screentime increased almost to 6 hours per day. And that was just watching television and playing video games, so we weren’t able to take into account time spent on social media,” says Duerden.
The increase in online screen time is negative because Duerden says you can come reliant on screen time and spend less time on healthy behaviours.
“The association between screen time and cognitive ability and brain development is not well understood. It’s associated with sedentary behaviour, which is associated with a number of adverse health outcomes and different nutrition choices. So this could be associated with unhealthy eating behaviours and of course less time to do other things like physical activity,” Duerden says.
Duerden recommends trying a “digital diet” for anyone trying to cut down on screen time, especially after a day of online learning.
“Banning screens isn’t really possible. But like any type of diet, be mindful of how much free time children are getting. And really for everyone, instead of watching Netflix at night, maybe pick up a book and reading or even engaging with others. These things are different from passively viewing in terms of the long-term effects on our brains,” says Duerden.
