Professor Alina Morawska’s keynote focused on the growing public health concern of excessive screen use among children and adolescents. Most young people exceed recommended screen time guidelines, which raises issues around volume, content, purpose, and displacement of other activities. Research shows that high screen use correlates with negative developmental, physical, and mental health outcomes, particularly in early childhood.
Parental influence emerged as a critical factor. Parents often use screens to manage daily demands, experience guilt and ambivalence, and actively try to regulate screen time. Importantly, parental modelling strongly shapes children’s habits, alongside factors such as device availability and parental confidence in managing technology.
Alina introduced the Healthy Habits Triple P program, an online intervention designed for parents of young children. Pilot trials indicate promising results in reducing screen time and improving parental self-efficacy. Work is underway to adapt these interventions for older children and diverse family contexts. She emphasised that solutions must go beyond the household, advocating for integrated approaches involving schools, communities, and families, shared language, and collective capacity building.
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