As parents, we often worry if our kids' screen time usage will fall into addictive behaviour. We've all heard stories about children demanding to watch cartoons in the middle of the night.

But before we move on into what makes screen addictive, we need to differentiate screens and content. Screen is not the cause of your kids addiction. It’s the content on the screen and the amount of time consuming it is to be blame.

Just like drugs, we don’t get addicted to medications prescribed by doctors. But the misuse of drugs can lead to addiction.

So how does content cause addiction?

It starts with stimulation

We are constantly receiving stimulation from around us. This included all media we consume. Stimulation here refers to sensory input. This stimulation is important to keep us engaged. Too little we will get bored. Too much we can get addicted. We want the stimulation to be just enough for us to get engaged.

Balancing it lies on these three elements:

1. Colour - The brighter and more vibrant the colour, the stronger the stimulation.

2. Movement - Fast pace video/ animation gives higher stimulation.

3. Sound - high beat sounds gives higher stimulation.

When these three elements are high, it's called high-stimulation content. When they're low, it's called low-stimulation content. 

Prolonged exposure of high-stimulation content risks making children addicted to screens. This addiction can lead to tantrums and other behavioural issues.

So what can we do?

As I always said when discussing this issue with parents, we have to embrace technology. If we stope for a moment and think back, What we are seeing now in technology is the worst version it can be. Technology will only get more advanced and scarier from today.

So how can we embrace technology in a safe and healthy way? Look for low-stimulation shows or app that is:

1. More muted or pastel colours. I call these peaceful colours.

2. Calmer, less upbeat sounds and not too many sounds at once.

3. Slower pace animations. Not many cut scenes. Slow speech, pronounced one by one.

   
   

I hope we can all agree screens themselves are not the enemy – it's the nature of the content and how we use it that matters. By making informed choices about our kids’ digital activities, we can harness the benefits of technology while minimising the risks of addiction.

This approach will equip our children with the skills they need to navigate an increasingly digital world in a healthy and productive manner.