Screen time.

It looks like wherever we go there is a sea of people interacting with the screen of their mobile phone, tablet, laptop, television, computer or video game. We’re connected to screens all time and screen dependency is spreading fast.

In fact, by the end of 2014 the world will have more cell phone accounts than people on Earth at the current growth rate for that service, concludes a recent study by International Telecommunications Union.

In other words, few months from now, there will be more cell phones users than people on the planet. This doesn’t mean that everyone will have one mobile device. It can be attributed to the increasing number of users that have a work and a personal device.

Screen addiction is a natural consequence of the world trend we are living.

“Screen time” refers to the entire electronic media: computers, TV, videos, video games, tablets and cellphones.

According to the Canadian Pediatric Society, in a public stand taken in 2011, they said that we spend too much screen time. They are not alone raising the alarm in this matter. Vancouver Island’s, Health chief medical health officer and a pediatrician, Dr. Richard Stanwick, urged parents to limit children's screen time.

Dr Stanwick, said that parents must avoid a trap set for their children’s via electronic media delivered in television, video games, smartphones, computer programs and Internet. Too much screen time can affect your child’s sleep, cause behavioral problems and leaves less time for active play.

Dr. Stanwick’s concerns lead us to ask some key question: How we are going to support our kids if we are screen dependents?

• Do you check emails randomly throughout the day, even when you are not in the office?

• Do you interact with your phone first time in the morning as soon as you wake up  and last time at night when going to bed?

• Do you check Facebook more than twice a day?

• Do you feel like you could miss something when watching television and check all channels in autopilot way?

• Do you feel anxious when detached from your smartphone?

• Do you have difficulty in reading an online article without opening hyperlinks?

• Do you use your smartphone during dinner or while in company, talking to a friend?

• Do you use your smartphone while driving?

The best way to encourage and promote change in our kids is by example.

In order to create healthy habits in our children’s we should set boundaries to technology. We should limit screen time to one or two hours per day.

And remember that less is best when it comes to screen time.