Social media and excessive screen time pose a bigger health risk to youth than substance use and inactivity, say Manitoba doctors, who are throwing their support behind a ban proposed by the province.

“As physicians, we are increasingly seeing the impact of excessive social media and screen time on mental health, sleep and healthy development in children and youth,” Dr. Alon Altman, the new president of Doctors Manitoba, said Monday in an online news conference.

“There is growing evidence about these impacts.”

Members surveyed by the provincial physicians’ advocacy organization ranked social media and excessive screen time as the biggest risk to kids’ health. More than 240 family physicians, pediatricians, psychiatrists and other specialties responded to the survey that ran from April 30 to May 15. More than 90 per cent indicated support for restricting access to social media and AI chatbots for children and youth.

The survey was prompted by Premier Wab Kinew’s recent promise to restrict social media and AI chatbot use for those under age 16 through new legislation.

There is strong evidence and growing concern about highly addictive digital platforms having a negative impact on the the health and development of children and youth, said Altman, a gynecological oncologist.

“The important thing here is that the physicians are looking at social media and excessive screen time similar to smoking, substance use and alcohol,” he said, responding to a question about how to help children and youth who are already addicted.

“The fact that these restrictions need to be put in place is the first step. The next steps are trying to deal with what’s happening,” he said. “The (proposed legislation) is the first step towards controlling this, and then there’s many more steps on figuring out what to do after that.”

Governments around the world are taking action, implementing age-based bans in countries such as Australia, or pursuing alternative restrictions targeting platform features or screen-time limits, Altman said.

In the U.S., more 1,000 school districts and at least 40 states have pursued lawsuits against social media companies, according to Doctors Manitoba.

The Manitoba Pediatric Society fully supports the proposed ban.

“We owe it to our kids to protect them from the online safety risks of social media,” president Dr. Meghan Cranston said in a Doctors Manitoba news release.

The risks include depression, anxiety, eating disorders and addictions, said Health Sciences Centre pediatrician Dr. William Li.

“What I’ve been seeing a lot more is mental health (issues),” said Li, vice-president of the provincial pediatric society and a Doctors Manitoba representative at HSC.

“A lot of that has been related to multiple things, but there are some significant issues with social media use, as well as screen time.”

Prolonged use can lead to sedentary behaviour and obesity, he said during the online news conference.

The Canadian Paediatric Society recommends that children aged five and older have no more than two hours of screen time per day, and that includes social media.

Going from excessive use to zero screen time would be “tough,” Li said, adding he advises families to develop a plan to reinforce quality family time with non-digital means of entertainment, such as reading a book or going for a walk.

“I encourage parents to speak to their kids about the negatives of social media.” They can set an example with healthy screen time and technology use, he said.

A neurologist who works at Winnipeg’s Brain, Vision and Concussion Clinic said screen use can affect kids’ vision.

“If the distance is not appropriate, it can cause near-sightedness,” Dr. Neda Anssari said. “On top of that, potentially — if it started at a young age — it can increase the chance of ADHD, as well.”

Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder is a common neurodevelopmental disorder that affects how the brain develops and functions.

A neuro-ophthalmologist who has children with Anssari and also works at the clinic said there can be benefits and harms from screen time.

“We need to have our kids trained on what are the capabilities that they can have on the computer,” Dr. Behzad Mansouri said. “On the other hand, it has to be under supervision, it has to be controlled, limited to a certain number of minutes or hours a day.”

Some of the physicians surveyed by Doctors Manitoba emphasized the importance of balancing safeguards with education, noting that young people will eventually need the skills to safely navigate online environments and emerging technologies.

While respondents strongly supported age-based restrictions, some doubted whether Manitoba has the clout to successfully implement a ban. They pointed to other measures that could also help reduce harms, including removing addictive platform features such as infinite scrolling, stronger moderation of harmful content, restrictions on advertising for minors and digital literacy and online safety education for children and youth.

“As a parent I would love to have more formal education for my children on this,” said Altman. “I would like to get more education on how to help them with this, as well.”

— With files from Gabrielle Piche

carol.sanders@freepress.mb.ca