“Scroll less and live best” is the catchy message of the new 43-page report “Surgeon General’s Warning on the Harms of Screen Use.” The implicit message that spending hours doomscrolling is not the best way to live is practically common sense, yet easier said than done.
Published in May, the advisory enumerates a litany of statistics linking excessive screen use to poor developmental, mental and physical health, and educational outcomes in children and teens. The document is more than just a warning. It also provides common-sense recommendations in the form of “the 5 Ds” (discuss, do, delay, divert, and disconnect) to help families navigate their children’s healthy use of screens.
If the impact of previous surgeon general reports is any precedent, the new advisory could reshape common norms and practices of American households.
The “Surgeon General’s Warning on the Harms of Screen Use” joins a long list of influential surgeon general reports, including one that transformed American health over 60 years ago: the “Surgeon General’s Report on Smoking and Health.” The 1964 report linked cigarette smoking to lung cancer and other poor health outcomes, launching one of the most important public health campaigns. Since then, cigarette smoking rates have fallen 73% among U.S. adults, avoiding an estimated 8 million American premature deaths.
Given that 97% of Americans own a smartphone and 81% of parents and 57% of children spend between four and 12 hours a day online, the latest surgeon general’s report could transform Americans’ relationship to their screens if they heed its advice.
Like the 2023 advisory on social media and youth mental health, the advisory on screens is less revelatory as it is confirmative and timely. Summer months for families means kids are at home with more free time: the perfect time to create a family media plan or even go on a digital detox.
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For parents who are unbothered by their children’s screentime, consider this statistic from the report: “By adolescence, children may spend more time on screens than sleeping or attending school.”
The report’s emphasis on the role of families and responsibilities parents have in shaping practices in their home is noteworthy. The advisory urges families to “be present in the moment,” “connect with children without a distraction,” and “delay screen time for as long as possible.”
The report encourages parents to model healthy screen habits themselves, treating families not only as regulators of children’s digital practices, but also as their primary guides to developing healthy technology habits. This recognition is critical. Acknowledging the household’s role in shaping digital citizenship is vital to developing holistic, family-centered policies.
Policies regarding children’s technology use should reflect an existential truth: technology should be shaped to serve the home; the home should not be shaped to serve technology. Parents hoping to form a well-ordered household can look at the advisory’s suggestions as a basic starting point to achieve that vision.
While the advisory does not implement policy or regulations, its data-driven safeguards and practices rightly center on the institution which most impacts children—the family.
However, it’s not fair for parents to bear the brunt of this fight. In addition to families, the report provides recommendations to schools, health providers, researchers, policymakers, and technology companies. Without proper guardrails, tech companies will continue to exploit people’s fallible ways, monopolize attention, and influence the minds of children, all of which serves technology over humans.
The surgeon general’s warning does not condemn all technology digital screen time. It recognizes that connecting with friends and family members, researching interests, and learning new skills and hobbies are joyful experiences—ones that serve humans. But it also fundamentally acknowledges that living real life means disconnecting from screens. In other words, “scroll less, live best.”
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