Understanding the New AAP Digital Media Guidelines for Screen Time and Social Media

Connecting policy to practice: How to implement the new AAP digital media guidelines

By: Dr. Jenny Radesky, MD, FAAP, Co-Medical Director, Center of Excellence on Social Media & Youth Mental Health

Dr. Radesky served as Chair of the AAP Council on Communications and Media during the development of the new policy statement. Below, Dr. Radesky highlights the updated policy guidance and explains what parents can do now to build healthier media habits.

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has released a new version of what are often called the “screen time guidelines.” Except this time, the focus goes way beyond the amount of time children, teens, and parents spend on screens. The policy statement and technical report emphasize two new concepts that shape how digital media impacts children’s well-being:

Socio-ecological systems and
Child-centered design.

Let’s unpack those concepts and how they relate to social media.

Jump to what youth and parents can do

Circles of care: The socio-ecological systems around children

The new policy uses a model called the socioecological framework to explain how different layers of a child’s world affect their experiences with digital media. Think of it like a set of circles around the child:

The innermost circle is the child—their personality, age, and needs.
The next circle includes their family, school, and neighborhood.
The outer circles represent bigger influences like culture, laws, and the media industry.

The Center of Excellence approaches social media the same way. We encourage clinicians and parents to think about:

How does your unique child experience social media? Young people are active problem-solvers, we need to listen to them to figure out limits and alternative activities that will stick.
How parents use media shapes how kids and teens use media! Make your own boundaries so that you are role-modeling healthy use and making uninterrupted time for family and sleep
What offline community opportunities can give your teen social connection, such as a creative, sports, or volunteering activity?

In other words, social media use doesn’t occur in a vacuum. Relationships play a central role in social media use and youth mental health.

When young people have strong, supportive relationships both offline and online, they are more likely to use social media in a healthy way.

Quick Links: Related Resources

Child-centered design: How digital products can support or undermine youth well-being

Design matters. When social media platforms use features that encourage endless scrolling, they can interfere with sleep, which in turn affects mood and attention.

Design changes to social media—like reducing public ‘like’ counts or building in reminders to get more sleep—can ease pressures on younger users and support healthier use. Better policies and accountability will help us achieve that.

Healthy digital spaces are a shared responsibility. Practitioners, policymakers, and communities all play a role in supporting healthy social media use and shaping environments where young people can thrive. And social media companies have a responsibility for making sure healthy development is at the center of their designs.

When we include young people’s perspectives in social media design, we can build online environments that strengthen mental health for everyone.

What Youth and Parents Can Do

Tech design shapes how we use social media. Parents can build their tweens/teens’ digital literacy through regular conversation. Conversations build awareness about engagement-based designs that want our attention and clicks. Here are some conversation starters and questions to try:

“When does social media feel inspiring to you, and when does it feel like a bunch of ads and clickbait?”
“What accounts do you follow that are authentic and supportive, and which ones seem like the creators are competing for attention? How can you tell the difference?”
“What ads do you see on social media? What do you think the social media platform knows about you, and why it sends you those ads?”
“What pulls you back to social media? What reminds you to put it down?”

Experiment with small changes. Researchers found that a 1-week break from social media can help reset mood and sleep. But it’s important to make small changes that are sustainable for you. Here are some small changes to help build healthier relationships with social media:

What attention-grabbing features can you turn off? Reducing notifications and setting downtimes are available on most phones.
Plan out times when you will check social media, like at lunchtime or after dinner, instead of letting it fill your downtime or boredom.
Find other chill activities to fill downtime, such as listening to music, reading, or coloring.
The goal is to be in control of your attention and direct it to what matters to you – your family, your pet, a book, outdoors – and make it a daily habit.

Suggested Center of Excellence Resources to Support Families

5 Cs of Media Use (Available in English and Spanish)

The 5 Cs of Media Use are designed to meet kids, teens and parents where they are and encourage families to think about media use beyond screen time. The 5 Cs are Child, Content, Calm, Crowding Out, and Communication. This approach, along with age-based handouts, informs parents about how their child’s developmental stage influences their media use and how to support healthy media habits at home.