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Promoting Healthy Video Viewing for Teenagers

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By: Dr. Marisa Azaret
December 24, 2024



The local video rental store was often where childhood weekend fun began for many of today’s parents. Many have fond memories of visiting the store with parents, and selecting movies for viewing at home, often from the section featuring child-and family-friendly titles.

Today, the volume of video content accessible to children and adolescents has increased exponentially, due in large measure to streaming platforms that offer a wide array of compelling content – often featuring adult themes – viewable through phones, laptops and other devices.

Amidst this video content bonanza, the American Psychological Association recently released its “Recommendation for Healthy Teen Video Viewing.” The publication offers insights and recommendations to help parents navigate in a video-rich world.
 

Video Viewing Can Both ‘Help or Harm’ Teens

The APA underscores that teenagers develop and attain maturity at different rates. Parents play an essential role in helping their kids make viewing decisions that meet individual needs and even support growth in helpful ways.

  • Not all youth have the same response to video content. For example, children with aggressive tendencies, or who experience anxiety may react more strongly to certain types of content than other children. Know your children and how they react to specific types of programming and guide them toward content that will be helpful for them.

  • On the plus side, the right video content can help adolescents understand complex information and develop more sophisticated interpersonal relationships. It can expose them to new cultures and people in different circumstances and help promote empathy for others, an essential skill for establishing good friendships.

Finding Balance and Setting an Example

Parents can help children find a balance between video viewing and other activities, including homework, sports and exercise, and social interactions. Too much video viewing can squeeze out other activities important to overall development. Video viewing can be used as a reward for completing homework, chores and meeting other family expectations.

Setting a good example of video-viewing practice is essential. Make sure you don’t spend too much time watching video content to the exclusion of other activities and include in your viewing programming that can enhance your understanding of the world and people in other cultures and circumstances.

Recommendations to Support Healthy Viewing for Teens

The following are APA recommendations for parents to support positive teen viewing experiences:

  • Make use of parental controls available on most viewing platforms. These can make it possible to restrict access to certain types of programs or individual programs that you think will not be a good fit for your child.

  • Take advantage of guides, such as Common Sense Media, which provides descriptions of programs and guidance on age-appropriateness of certain programming to help parents make good decisions.

  • Limit exposure to video content depicting violence, aggression, cyberhate, health-risk behavior (drug or sexual risk taking, self-harm or suicide) and unhealthy body images.

  • Watch negative content with your child. Encourage your child to share their thoughts on the negative events and share your own thoughts. If you watch in silence, the child may interpret that you approve of all that was portrayed. The impact of negative content can be mitigated by a discussion of what happened, and actions characters could have taken to change the events.

  • As your child matures, you will need to accept that some of what teens watch online will be unknown to you. Encourage regular discussions with your children about things they have seen on video that both inspire and dismay them.

 
Dr. Marisa Azaret is Director of Clinical Psychology at Nicklaus Children’s Hospital and Co-Chair of the Digital Safety Alliance. If your child is experiencing symptoms of depression, anxiety or other behavioral disorders, it may be time to seek professional help. Contact the Nicklaus Children’s Psychology Team at: 305-669-6503.