Is Screen Time Hurting Kids?

New U.S. Surgeon General’s Advisory urges everyone to enjoy a world beyond screens

May 22, 2026

The evidence is mounting that screen time creates risks for children’s mental and physical health, according to a new advisory from the U.S. surgeon general.

The federal advisory released this week lists warning signs that screen time may be causing harm and the ways schools, community organizations, and policymakers can take action to address the issue.

“This Advisory is not only a warning, but also an invitation for all of us to enjoy a broader world, beyond the confines of screens,” the advisory says.

Here are a few key takeaways from the report:

• About the advisory:  The surgeon general releases advisories to call attention to urgent public health issues and to provide recommendations about how they should be addressed.
• What to watch:  Concerning patterns for kids and adolescents include irritability when devices are taken away; secrecy around online behavior; withdrawal from offline activities; and repeated attempts to reduce use without success.
• Key issues:  Researchers are currently evaluating the way screen exposure affects cognitive and emotional development, physical and metabolic health, and educational outcomes, among other areas.
• Policies in action:  Schools are taking steps to reduce the effects of screen time, including banning non-instructional use, the advisory notes.
  • Policymakers can advance stronger privacy and safety protections.
  • Technology companies should prioritize transparency and “reducing manipulative design features.”
• Quotable:  “Parents, caregivers, schools, communities, health care providers, and children and adolescents themselves have an opportunity and responsibility to help reduce the role of screens in the lives of our nation’s children,” the advisory says. “Likewise, policy makers and tech companies need to acknowledge the potential for harm and create frameworks to protect children to a low for healthy and joyful use.”

The advisory and a toolkit are available online.