Children and Technology Committee: Kids’ Post COVID Tech Use

On Monday, May 19^th library professionals throughout the country joined Children and Technology Committee members for a lively We Are ALSC Chat titled Beyond the Screen: Navigating Screen Time After COVID. Participants explored multiple related topics including.

• How the pandemic influenced the amount and types of screen time for children.
  Recent research about post-COVID screen time habits.
• Ways the pandemic affected children’s focus, cognitive and social development. 
• How increased screen time in schools affected children’s overall daily exposure.
  Disparities in access to digital devices and internet connectivity at home.
• Strategies parents and educators can use to balance the educational benefits of screen time with the need to limit overall exposure.

Based on the committee’s research, participants learned that the pandemic exacerbated the issue of screen time when almost everything in a child’s life moved to remote and online. Prior to the pandemic, adolescents spent more time than the World Health Organization’s recommended limit of two hours of screen time per day. During the pandemic, screen time rose by nearly two hours a day and stayed higher once students returned to in-person learning. Research suggests excessive screen time has presented negative impacts on children of all ages, especially in early developmental years (ages 3-6). The committee commented that there are not many studies that analyze the interactions between school and out-of-school screen time.

Positive findings and solutions included tools for parents to reduce children’s screen time (modeling, automatic screen use limits, balancing technology use with non-tech activities). Since the pandemic, 90% of U.S. public schools now report having enough laptops or tablets for every student. Libraries have also continued working hard to bridge the digital divide by providing free WiFi, hotspots, technology loans, one-on-one training, and digital resources for their communities. 

A full recap of the May 2025 We Are ALSC Chat – Beyond the Screen: Navigating Screen Time After COVID is available at https://www.ala.org/alsc/member-center/we-are-alsc-chats. A link to all research sources is included in the Chat Recap.

This blog post relates to the ALSC Core Competencies of: I. Commitment to Client Group,
II. Reference and User Services, IV. Collection Knowledge and Management, VII. Professionalism and Professional Development.

Christy Keyes is the Director of the Lighthouse Point Library in Lighthouse Point, Florida and a graduate of ALA’s Certified Public Library Administrator program. She is sharing this post on behalf of the Children and Technology Committee. Photo is property of Lighthouse Point Library. All photo releases on file.

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 On Monday, May 19th library professionals throughout the country joined Children and Technology Committee members for a lively We Are ALSC Chat titled Beyond the Screen: Navigating Screen Time After COVID. Participants explored multiple related topics including. Based on the committee’s research, participants learned that the pandemic exacerbated the issue of screen time when almost everything in a child’s life moved to remote and online. Prior to the pandemic, adolescents spent more time than the World Health Organization’s recommended limit of two hours of screen time per day. During the pandemic, screen time rose by nearly two hours a day and stayed higher once students returned to in-person learning. Research suggests excessive screen time has presented negative impacts on children of all ages, especially in early developmental years (ages 3-6). The committee commented that there are not many studies that analyze the interactions between school and out-of-school screen time. Positive…
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