Kids’ Screen Time: What Are the Risks?
Does screen time damage children’s health? Also, a virtual reality bucket list, and are antibiotic-resistant bugs more common in surfers?
Many parents know it is hard to separate children from technology – whether they are watching box sets on tablets, playing video games or messaging friends on smartphones. Scary headlines warn parents of the risks – but how much evidence is there that new technology causes harm? Surprisingly little – according to researchers who have been meeting in London this week. So what should parents do?
Do you have a bucket list of things you want to do before you die – like seeing the Pyramids or the Northern Lights? People living with a terminal illness might find travelling too difficult – even if they can afford such trips.
So now a hospice in the UK is trialling virtual reality to help people tick off some of their bucket list wishes. As well as helping them to achieve their dreams, it’s hoped that it may also ease symptoms experienced by palliative care patients - like pain and fatigue.
If you like surfing or swimming in the sea you will want to know how clean the water is. Researchers in the UK have made a troubling discovery – that some surfers had ingested E.coli bacteria – and even worse, they were the kind that are resistant to a common antibiotic.
(Photo: Boy using digital tablet in a dark bedroom. Credit: Getty Images)
Last on
Clip
-
Does screen time damage children’s health?
Duration: 02:21
Broadcasts
- Wed 17 Jan 2018 20:32GMTÂ鶹Éç World Service Online, Americas and the Caribbean, UK DAB/Freeview & Europe and the Middle East only
- Wed 17 Jan 2018 21:32GMTÂ鶹Éç World Service Australasia, South Asia & East Asia only
- Thu 18 Jan 2018 05:32GMTÂ鶹Éç World Service except Australasia, East and Southern Africa, News Internet & West and Central Africa
- Thu 18 Jan 2018 07:32GMTÂ鶹Éç World Service Australasia & East and Southern Africa only
- Thu 18 Jan 2018 15:32GMTÂ鶹Éç World Service Australasia
- Thu 18 Jan 2018 18:32GMTÂ鶹Éç World Service East and Southern Africa & West and Central Africa only
- Fri 19 Jan 2018 03:32GMTÂ鶹Éç World Service West and Central Africa
- Sun 21 Jan 2018 00:32GMTÂ鶹Éç World Service West and Central Africa
- Mon 22 Jan 2018 02:32GMTÂ鶹Éç World Service except News Internet & West and Central Africa
Podcast
-
Health Check
Health issues and medical breakthroughs from around the world.