Screen addiction is real. So is overcoming screen addiction, for young and old. Having studied, written and given media workshops on this topic for close to two decades, I have found that not only is Screen Addiction Syndrome (SAS) not going away--it has become normalized. No big deal. 

“Yes, I’m addicted. Yes, my child is addicted. What are you going to do? That’s just how life is in 2025.” Nothing is “just how it is.” As adults, we have agency, we have choices. Children, dependent on adult guidance, have choices to a much lesser degree. To quote every single parent of the ancient 20th century: “If everyone is jumping off a cliff, are you going to follow them?”

You and I all know the horror stories, because we’ve experienced them ourselves, or have at least seen them, especially in…restaurants. Parents and children file in. The kids each have their brightly-coloured media devices, and the baby is playing with Mom’s phone in the stroller. Once they’re seated, the children (sometimes with headphones on) bury themselves in their cartoons, shows, videos, movies or games. They are not required (yes, required) to interact with anyone at any time during the meal, and so they don’t even look up, not even when ordering or consuming their food. 

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If a sibling or parent dare interrupt them, they lash out, not wanting to be disturbed. One disapproving auntie just shared a shocking picture online that has gone viral. The picture is of her approximately six-year-old niece who moved herself to an empty table at a restaurant so she had more room to prop up her tablet and watch her program while she slurped her soup. All alone.  But have you noticed this strikingly consistent detail? These “tablet kids” do not look happy. Their eyes are dull, their faces sad, even anxious. It’s not unusual for Gen Z and Gen Alpha youth--when they reach their teens—to declare, with no little resentment: “Yeah, I was tablet kid.”

I find there are generally seven categories of parents with regard to allowing and fostering their child’s addiction: 

1) parents who are screen-addicted themselves  

2) parents who don’t see any harm in the addiction  

3) parents who are in denial about their child’s addiction  

4) non-addicted parents who are puzzled by the addiction (they don’t understand the powerful physiological attraction of today’s media/media devices and how their child’s brain chemistry is almost helpless to resist without their aid)  

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5) parents who don’t understand that parenting the media is one of the most important aspects of parenting in 2025  

6) parents who are grateful their children are occupied  

7) parents who think their child’s incessant use of media technology is preparing them for a successful future.

Ironically, A.I. can do all the tech jobs and then some, but it’s the human-only qualities, interactions, skills and virtues that A.I. will never replace (only mimic badly, if even that) that our youth are not being formed in, not even in the heart of the family (families of the aforementioned seven types). Unaddressed addictions cannot coexist with a well-adjusted personality.

What’s the solution? Unplug…with a plan. Plug in...with a plan. What’s the plan? A newish, wildly-effective program called “Screen Strong,” created by a Mom of four, might be just the ticket. 

Screen Strong developer, Melanie Hempe, was devastated when her eldest son dropped out of university due to his video game addiction. With her background in nursing, Melanie began researching, and came up with an in-person and multimedia program that “empowers families to prevent screen problems and reclaim their kids from toxic screens: social media, video games, and pornography.” 

The youngest Hempe son (who was spared his older brother’s addiction) used Screen Strong principles starting around Grade 6. When an interviewer asked if it made him odd to his peers, he answered that it did…at first. He went on to observe that kids at that age will pick on you for any reason, anyway. Simply not having a smart phone is better than being picked on for your looks or the way your talk, or whatever. Without having an internet-enabled phone or mobile device until high school, he was able to avoid all the drama, negativity, time loss, etc., and focus on constructive interests. 

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Of course, sufficient information, motivation and self-discipline go into both foregoing and using media intentionally, humanly and optimally at any age. For more information: screenstrong.org

Sr. Helena Raphael Burns, fsp, is a Daughter of St. Paul. She holds a Masters in Media Literacy Education and studied screenwriting at UCLA. HellBurns.com  X/Twitter: @srhelenaburns  #medianuns MediaApostle.com  Instagram: @medianunscanada