If you feel guilty about screen time, you're not alone

Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan U.S. think tank that studies social trends. They spent six months analyzing posts on r/Parenting and surveyed over 3,000 parents. Some of the findings may hit close to home.

Key takeaways:

• 1 in 3 parents visit online parenting communities at least monthly. You're not alone.
• 18% of all posts mention screen time, devices, YouTube, TikTok, or gaming. That's nearly 1 in 5 conversations.
• 48% of posts express negative emotions like stress, guilt, or frustration. Only 5% were purely positive.
• Yet comments are overwhelmingly supportive.
• Moms seek advice online twice as much as dads: 42% vs 22%.

What these conversations actually sound like:

"My 9-year-old keeps telling me he's the only one in class without an iPhone. I found ways around parental controls when I was young, so I want to wait until he is in middle school. But I do feel bad that he feels left out."

"My son just lounges in his room all day long in his pajamas. It's like he's not even part of the family because we hardly see him. There are no interests stronger than his phone."

(Excerpts from r/Parenting, via Pew Research).

r/Parenting has 8+ million members.

Full study: https://www.pewresearch.org/data-labs/2025/11/12/how-parents-use-online-communities/

What's actually helped with screen time in your house?