Is Your Child Addicted to Screen Media?

I have a pre-teen child who I sometimes describe as being “addicted” to iPhones, iPads, iMacs, televisions, etc. Although I try to limit how many streaming services our family subscribes to at any given time, there exists an endless amount of freely available content on YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, and numerous other social media sites to consume a child’s every waking minute. There are also numerous popular video games that suck up time that should otherwise be spent on doing homework, socializing with friends, or sleeping. Therefore, I often find myself asking my child to turn off electronic screens and spend more time in the real world.

Many parents like me may wonder if their children are addicted to screens. To answer this question, one must start by defining a standard way to measure addiction. Some researchers have attempted to do this by developing and validating the Problematic Media Use Measure (PMUM) which is a collection of questions related to behavioral manifestations of screen media addiction in children. Although the PMUM Full Scale consists of 27 items, there is a PMUM Short Form consisting of 9 items with very similar performance. Those 9 items, each representing a factor related to problematic media use, are as follows:

• It is hard for my child to stop using screen media. (Unsuccessful control)
• Screen media is the only thing that seems to motivate my child. (Loss of interest)
• Screen media is all that my child seems to think about. (Preoccupation)
• My child’s screen media use interferes with family activities. (Psychosocial consequences)
• My child’s screen media use causes problems for the family. (Serious problems due to use)
• My child becomes frustrated when he/she cannot use screen media. (Withdrawal)
• The amount of time my child wants to use screen media keeps increasing. (Tolerance)
• My child sneaks using screen media. (Deception)
• When my child has had a bad day, screen media seems to be the only thing that helps him/her feel better. (Escape/relieve mood)

Parents are asked if each of those statements is true for their child in the past month, with responses based on a 5-point Likert scale, ranging from Never (1 point) to Always (5 points). The authors state that PMUM scores correlate well with parent-child conflicts over screen media use (e.g., television, computers, tablets, smartphones, and video games) and that it is a valid and reliable measure of screen media “addiction” in children 4-11 years old. They note, however, that additional clinical validation should be done and that cutoff scores need to be established. In this context, do you view media use as being problematic for your child?