L&Z Coaching - Serving Your Best Self

I recently read an article that truly resonated with me: "Social media and youth mental health defining challenge of our time: Surgeon General." This topic is so critical, and I couldn’t agree more. Excessive screen time, which I call a Screen Pandemic, is where it all starts. For those who know me, you’re aware that I’m quite strict about limiting my children’s screen time. They don’t have iPads, smartphones, or video games at home, and they won’t for many years to come—at least until social media becomes a safer space.

You might wonder why I feel so strongly about this. My answer is simple: kids don’t need it. Trust me, they really don’t. I believe they need to expend their energy in other ways. We all know that can’t happen if they’re glued to a screen. Children should be running around outside, riding bikes, playing sports, creating, reading books, writing stories, drawing, and dreaming about endless possibilities. They need to experience boredom, too. Yes, boredom! That’s when creativity truly blossoms. That’s when they might pick up a book, play a board game, or engage in imaginative play.

Yes, my kids might seem behind their peers in terms of tech skills (they do catch up at school, much to my dismay), and they’re not great at video games. But as parents, my husband and I don’t mind, and actually, neither do our boys. We’ve explained to our almost six and almost eight-year-old why even short screen times aren’t beneficial. One major reason is the mental health crisis affecting young children.

"The data tells us that kids who spend an average of three hours or more on social media a day experience a doubling of their risk for anxiety and depression symptoms. That's pretty profound, but also particularly disturbing when you keep in mind that the average amount of use for adolescents today is 4.8 hours a day." Five hours a day? That’s staggering.

I get it—giving kids a screen to keep them quiet and distracted is easier. I see it often: toddlers with their mom’s phone in hand or kids watching something at a restaurant so the adults can have a conversation. It’s definitely more convenient! Don’t get me wrong, I’ve made this mistake myself. My kids do get to watch a movie on rainy days or an episode of "Wild Kratts" or "Octonauts" occasionally.

But have you noticed how your children’s behavior changes after just a few minutes of screen time? That’s another reason for our strictness. We don’t want to deal with problematic or anxious children later. Kids who don’t listen, don’t study, and don’t care about anything or anyone. Imagine this progression: your child is allowed an hour of screen time in elementary school. In middle school, it might increase to chatting apps and social media, which can be incredibly dangerous. They hit puberty, thinking 3-5 hours of screen time is great. They play games, chat online, and miss out on developing social skills, leading to anxiety and depression. They might withdraw, becoming unreachable. This can lead to heartbreaking scenarios, where you wonder if it could have been prevented.

Unfortunately, this isn’t an exaggeration. Research consistently shows that social media isn’t safe for kids. Additionally, I’ve seen it firsthand within my family. It’s heartbreaking to see young lives, full of potential, consumed by screen addiction, not interested in living.

I know not everyone will read this or agree with me, but I needed to share my perspective. As parents, we’re responsible for our children’s healthy development. We must fight this screen pandemic for the sake of our kids’ health and future. If this message helps you reduce your child’s screen time even by a minute, it was worth it. If you’re doubting your strict screen time rules, know that you’re doing an amazing job—keep it up! One day, your children will thank you. Sending love to you all!

Social media and youth mental health defining challenge of our time: Surgeon general — ABC News Dr. Vivek Murthy explained to ABC's Elizabeth Schulze why a warning is needed.

⭐️ I get inspired a lot by sports achievements in my coaching practice. With the Winter Olympics, I see incredible races taking place every day. I see athletes who want to get better and better with each run. To be the best, it firstly requires acknowledging their weaknesses to improve their performance. Secondly, they have to put in the hours. As Malcolm Gladwell writes in his Outliers - "Ten thousand hours is the magic number to greatness." Thirdly, the driver of their outcomes is their self-motivation. They wake up early, train for countless hours, they may fall, but they get up again and again. They know that they have to feel the burn if they want to succeed. ⛸🥌⛷🥇🥈🥉🏂
The sports world is similar to the business world, maybe except for the sweating. If we're going to achieve career success, we first have to understand why and what we need to improve and second how much time we are willing to put in.🌱



Photo: https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202202/10/WS620469b0a310cdd39bc85c31.html

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