Online tool confirms excessive mobile device use among children
Plano announced the release of its Plano Time Machine, a free online tool designed to calculate an individual’s time spent using smart devices during his or her lifetime.
The company designed the platform with the intention of educating people on the costs of excessive mobile device use and how to make daily adjustments to reduce time spent looking at smart device screens.
“The benefits of the Time Machine to the individual and society are vast,” Mohamed Dirani, PhD, founder and managing director of Plano, said in a press release. “At the individual level, those who comply with Time Machine’s recommendations may live a healthier and more meaningful life. At a societal level, better management of our screen time will reduce the public health and economic burden we are seeing with the epidemic of adverse health outcomes associated with excessive use of devices. Let’s use smart devices as the tools they are and not allow them to make tools out of us.”
Plano reported use of the platform by thousands of people from 59 countries, including the U.S., the U.K., Australia and Singapore since its launch.
Subgroup analysis from the platform’s findings supported data from the DQ Institute’s Child Online Safety Index, which reported that children in the 8- to 12-years-old age bracket spend approximately 32 hours per week looking at screens. Further analysis showed that adolescents 13 years to 19 years old spend more than 49 hours a week on their mobile devices.