The government appointed Screen Use Committee aims to provide the Norwegian government with comprehensive knowledge on how children and adolescents’ screen use affects their health, quality of life, learning, and upbringing. Based on this knowledge, the committee will provide input for policy development, and propose measures.
Screen use encompasses both time spent in front of screens, activities children and young people engage in on screens, and various types of content they are exposed to on screens. Children and adolescents refer to the age group up to 19 years. The committee is asked to recognize that children and adolescents are diverse, engage in various activities and media in different ways, thus experiencing different effects. Therefore, the committee will evaluate different use, consequences, and vulnerabilities for children and young people, as well as identifying characteristics of children and young people who benefit from such use.
The committee will compile knowledge and research about:
- Children and adolescents’ screen use and its impact on their physical activity, sleep, eye health, and musculoskeletal issues.
- Children and adolescents’ screen use and its impact on their mental health, including addiction, if possible ranging from mild psychological issues to mental disorders such as anxiety and depressive disorders.
- Children and adolescents’ screen use and its impact on their cognitive abilities, such as concentration, memory, and working memory.
- Whether the effects of screen use on children and adolescents’ physical and mental health can be correlated with findings about learning challenges.
- Whether, and if so, how screen use directly affects reading skills and the ability for deep reading, both directly and indirectly through its effects on mental and physical health.
The committee can also assess other topics it deems relevant to children and adolescents’ screen use and its impact on their physical and mental health, learning, quality of life, and upbringing. For example, whether children are indirectly influenced by parental screen use in their early years and the consequences this has on attachment and development.
The committee will present a public report to the Norwegian Government on November 1st, 2024.