Almost 20 years ago, parenting suddenly became harder than ever; families pivoted in a totally different direction, and our culture irreversibly changed. 

TV remote controls and flip phones were pushed to the side — similar to one rock pushing other rocks away in the game of curling. A brand new technology dawned in 2007.

At the launch of the first smartphone, I was in a mall in Victoria. I can close my eyes and still see the huge poster of the first iteration of the iPhone. Little did I know at that time how this technology would change the lives of the children and youth I now encounter in my clinic. 

In his New York Times bestseller, The Anxious Generation, Jonathan Haidt connects the dots between the first smartphone and today’s parenting challenges. Haidt explains in vivid detail how issues such as inattention, depression, anxiety, lack of sleep, inactivity, poor nutrition and even suicide are closely linked to out-of-control-consumption of smartphone technology. 

I am part of a grief group of parents who lost a child to suicide. In our group, there is unanimous agreement — sadly, in retrospect — that the role of smartphones, and the subsequent role of various social media platforms, loomed large.

I recently became aware of a national project in Canada to address the issue of excess screen time among tweens and teens. The well-known media company, Rogers, believes the efforts to raise awareness, educate, do research and partner with key influencers will be worth it.

The company, on Jan. 8, 2026, launched a five-year, $50-million national program to help youth balance screen time. The launch was preceded by a study of both parents and 11- to 7-year-olds regarding smartphone usage. The Canadian data revealed that most parents (over 90 per cent) are concerned about the amount of time their children spend using smartphones. Parents are more concerned than their children. Parents were asked how confident they are regarding the tough task of setting limits: less than one in five claimed to be confident. 

What struck me about the research is that the majority of concerned parents underestimated the actual hours of their children’s screen time by 90 minutes. The specific number in the age range of 11-13 years was four hours and 11 minutes per day; between the ages of 14-15, the number was five hours and 40 minutes; between 16-17, it was five hours and 30 minutes. 

Overall, the average is 5.2 hours per day. (The Canadian Pediatric Society and The American Academy of Pediatrics both suggest that two hours per day of recreational screen time is the ideal goal.) 

Based on talking to parents in my clinic, the above data may fall short because it refers to “per day.” It probably does not include the use of smartphones after midnight, or during the often-lonely 3 a.m. moments (One parent told me that when she decided to take her son’s phone before bedtime, he fretted that his friend who texts at 2 a.m. would be worried if he did not respond to the text messages.) 

What do teens and tweens say about their own use? Close to 50 per cent felt that amount of time is just right; 37 per cent admitted it may be too much, and 11 per cent said it is not much at all.

The Screen Break project reminds me of a saying by the late motivational speaker Zig Ziglar, who said, “If you keep on doing what you have been doing, you will be getting what you have been getting.” Changes are urgently needed.

It also reminded me of a saying which originated in 12th-century France: “Rome ne fu pas faite toute en un jour.”

Rogers understands the idea that Rome was not built in one day. That is why the research is followed up by more education, further research and partnering with key influencers and organizations. 

Last month, Rogers used a Blue Jays player, George Springer, to raise awareness. Other athletes who agreed to participate in future are Connor McDavid, Sarah Nurse and Marie-Philip Poulin. (For video clips, see www.about.rogers.com/screenbreak/)

Parents will be offered tools such as the Xfinity App. For more information on resources on this complex topic, my suggestion to folks is to bookmark the site mentioned above. 

In addition to partnering with celebrities, the project will also work closely with the YMCA in order to have a national impact. 

Skeptics may say that these kinds of projects are not helpful because they often have only a short-term impact. The frequent reinforcement and repetition of some key messages will be required in the years ahead; a wider partnership will have to prove the saying that it takes a village to raise a child.

My own hope is that the ABCs of behaviours will prevail: Awareness, Buy-in, and, ultimately, Changes.

Dr. Nieman is the founder of Centre 70 Pediatric. His monthly columns in the Herald started in 1999.