Young New Zealanders have among the highest rates of screen use in the world, both at home and at school.
Young New Zealanders have among the highest rates of screen use in the world, both at home and at school.
Opinion
Julie Cullen is a paediatric physiotherapist, and is currently completing her research thesis on children’s eye health through the University of Auckland.
OPINION
TikTok has been in the news lately, and it’s sparking up important conversations about some of the risks that our children face from digital technologies.
This comes just as new guidance has been published to support students with safer use of digital technologies in education settings, available on the Paediatric Society of New Zealand website.
These conversations may be especially important for young New Zealanders, who have among the highest rates of screen use in the world, both at home and at school.
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco) recently produced a comprehensive report investigating the impacts of technology in education. The report acknowledged the importance of accessing and mastering digital technologies for students, and explored examples of how technology can support and enrich learning.
However, Unesco found that evidence of successful use is currently limited, and much of the evidence showing positive impacts was linked to product developers and organisations that stand to gain from this multibillion-dollar industry. They noted that “some use of digital technology can benefit some learning, some of the time”, and highlighted risks that these technologies also pose to children’s privacy, equity, health and wellbeing. This included the risk that excessive screen use at school can contribute to children’s overall risk. Along with the United Nations (UN), they have called for urgent discussion and regulation of digital technologies in education, including (among other reasons) for consideration of risks to children’s health and development.
This follows research published earlier this year that found frequent and extended use of digital devices was associated with risks of harm to numerous areas of child and adolescent health, including risks to eye health, hearing and physical issues. Children from prioritised communities may face greater risk as they have higher rates of screen use than their more advantaged peers, creating potential for further inequity. In youth, internet use of more than six hours every day has been found to be most predominant in Māori rangatahi.
It is with these issues in mind that recommendations for safer use of digital technologies have been developed, for children from early childhood to high-school settings.
Developed by a diverse group including researchers, clinicians, educators and experts in screen media use for young people, these informed recommendations are based on an analysis of current evidence, existing international legislation and guidelines, consultation and feedback. They give evidence-based advice for students, such as safer use of headphones and ear buds, eye breaks and blinking exercises, and time limits for screen use - or a balance of screen and non-screen learning tasks (depending on the child’s age and stage).
They have been reviewed and endorsed by the Paediatric Society of New Zealand, the Australia and New Zealand Child Myopia Working Group, Brainwave Trust, the Pasifika Principals Association (NZPPA), The Office for Early Childhood Education, and Sensible Screen Use.
But balancing learning on and off screens does not mean children and teens need to miss out on the benefits that digital technologies can provide them. Large population studies have found that a balance of learning with screens and traditional teaching methods can support learning, and more frequent use of digital devices has been linked to reduced educational outcomes – including gaining digital skills.
Unesco’s results suggested that overall, learning can be both supported but also disrupted from educational technology, through distraction and disengagement. They note while there is no question that technologies can enhance learning experiences, more information is needed to better understand the most effective ways to do so.
This sentiment is echoed by authors of a New Zealand report examining Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) data, who commented “there is an urgent need to identify how devices can be optimally used because aside from a few specific situations, device use at school is generally associated with poorer academic outcomes, even after accounting for student background... digital devices have the potential to enhance learning, but there are few situations where this happens currently and many in which learning may be hindered”.
Along with world-leading rates of screen use for learning - and from young ages - the data showed that New Zealand students also have world-leading rates of distraction from digital devices in the classroom.
The age and developmental stage of the student has also been found to impact the effectiveness of technologies, and older students may have more to gain. This has led the United Nations to call attention to the need to consider the age-appropriateness of introducing digital technologies into the classroom, and consideration of the skills younger students need to develop before fully developing digital competencies.
Privacy and security is a major issue, with some educational products facing bans overseas. Unesco found that children’s rights to privacy were threatened by ed tech products, echoing a recent Human’s Rights Watch investigation that found the overwhelming majority of educational technology products surveilled or had the capacity to surveil children.
Yet, an increased focus on technology in the education curriculum is a necessary response to our changing world. We need to better understand both the gains and the challenges to help us to maximise the educational benefits technology can afford students, with lower risk.
Ensuring that young people benefit from technology, and that their privacy, equity and health is not harmed, is complex. Parents, educators and communities need to work together to support youth with these challenges. Recreational screen guidelines and resources such as family media plans exist to support families/whānau, and we now have recommendations to support screen use within education settings. Our leaders and decision-makers can further support young people with action and legislation to regulate developers of online platforms - including education technology - that do not have children’s best interests at heart.
The UN has called for urgent action, and as part of the UN, New Zealand must respond. Countries with comparable rates of screen use in education are taking notice. We hope these recommendations for the use of digital technologies in education settings take a positive step towards supporting young people in Aotearoa to balance digital opportunities with harms.
