The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services released a surgeon general advisory warning that excessive screen use among children and adolescents poses serious risks to sleep, academic performance, physical activity and in-person relationships.
The 40-page document said many children begin using screens before their first birthday and that teenagers average more than four hours of daily screen time outside school. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. signed the advisory amid debate over cellphone policies in classrooms.
Recommendations include no screen time for children under 18 months except video calls, less than one hour daily for ages 18 months to 6 years and up to two hours for ages 6 through 18. The report promotes a five-part framework: discuss, model, delay, divert and disconnect.
Officials called on technology companies to strengthen parental controls and design products that reduce compulsive use. The advisory was developed under the Make America Healthy Again strategic plan without a Senate-confirmed surgeon general in office.
Health and Human Services official Stephanie Haridopolos helped architect the advisory released May 20 under the Make America Healthy Again strategic plan. Kennedy said at a press conference that screens dominate children’s days from waking until sleep, correlating with rising depression and anxiety diagnoses. The report urged schools to adopt phone restrictions and health care providers to ask pediatric patients about daily digital habits during routine visits.
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Sources:
https://dailycuratednews.substack.com/p/news-headlines-may-22-2026