“Facetime doesn’t count”: Video chat as an exception to media restrictions for infants and toddlers

The American Academy of Pediatrics has historically discouraged media exposure for children under two due to the absence of evidence supporting its benefits and the potential for negative effects (AAP, 2011); however, the AAP has begun to recognize that all screen time may not be equal (Brown et al., 2015). For example, many young children today are geographically separated from family members, and video chat in particular may allow them to develop and maintain relationships with remote relatives (Ballagas et al., 2009). Do babies and toddlers use this technology, or have their parents discouraged its use because it is a form of media exposure? An online media usage survey was distributed to 183 parents of children between 6 and 24 months in the D.C. metro area. There were high levels of video chat usage reported across all children, regardless of whether they were exposed to high or low levels of other types of media. Furthermore, some parents explicitly reported viewing video chat as an exception to otherwise restrictive media rules. The changing landscape of traditional and non-traditional media sources and the implications of increased access to video chat technology for family communication are discussed.