“In 2020 we all experienced so much screen time, including our children, and some of it was forced. But now, on an average school day, kids are still absorbing more screen time than ever,” said Alayne Eisloeffel of Tri-County Prevention Coalition.

“We know screen addiction is real. We know studies have been done to show social media is detrimental to teens mental health and well-being. It’s time to talk about it. It’s time to see what we can do about it,” Eisloeffel continued.

If you or your child have an iPhone, did you know you can go to settings, then screen time to see exactly how many hours, yes hours, are spent staring at the tiny screen? Overall screen time average, not just on cell phones is about 7 ½ hours per day.

Studies, research, and statistics abound to show that screen time has increased, for children and adults, since the pandemic. However, the concerning part is those numbers don’t seem to be decreasing as life returns to more in-person and in the classroom activities. How much is too much? When is it an addiction? What can be done?

Tri-County Prevention Coalition is hosting, “Disconnected: How to Reconnect our Digitally Distracted Kids,” on Wednesday, December 1 at 6:30 p.m. at the Town of Crawford Senior and Community Center with guest speaker, Tom Kersting.

In addition to writing the best-selling book, “Disconnected,” Kersting is a nationally renowned psychotherapist, national speaker and retired substance awareness coordinator who has appeared on national television as an expert and lectures throughout the country.

“This is a very important topic, and we want to help the community learn real techniques and tips to help our children. This amount of screen time just can’t be sustained, we need to be responsible and find ways to restore some normalcy around screentime limits,” Eisloeffel said. “We hope the public will attend this in-person event, engage with the speaker, and take away some valuable information they can put into practice at home.”