In April 2019, eight months before the emergence of the new virus that would upend our lives, the World Health Organisation declared children under five should spend no more than one hour a day looking at screen-based technology.

Nearly two years and one pandemic later, screens have become an integral part of our lives. We have spent this crisis working, learning, relaxing and socialising via our laptops and smartphones, and our children are spending more time on their devices than ever before. According to one US study from April last year, half of American children were spending six hours or more a day online, up 500 per cent on pre-pandemic levels. (Pre-pandemic, the Australian Bureau of Statistics reported that more than half of Australian children aged five to 14 were using screens for more than 10 hours a week outside school hours.)

New Statesman