Issue 6: Letter From the Editors

From Kirstie

Welcome to Issue 6 of Sonshine Magazine. It’s all about something that might not even have merited an article when we were children: screen time.

In a relatively short space of time, our use of (or addiction) to screens has exploded. For me as a child, telephones were attached to the wall in the hall. I had a black & white TV as a pre-teen. I had to tune it with a dial. And there was never really anything on I wanted to watch, especially once Neighbours was over. On Sundays I’d get up and watch Frost on Sunday while my parents were still in bed. It was (marginally) better than a televised church service. Electronic gaming was in its infancy still - Donkey Kong anyone?  We took pictures using our cameras and had to send the films away in little envelopes and wait WEEKS to get the pictures back (normally to find out ninety percent of them were awful, or that Tim Boyd had used up all the film of your birthday night taking pictures of himself). It wasn’t all that long ago (I tell myself), but it sounds far far away. So we thought it was a good time to take a look at screens and what we all do with them…

This issue was in the planning when the WHO brought out their guidelines on screen time, suggesting limits for 2-4 year olds of no more that one hour a day. What surprised me was that the screen time limits were just about time, not about content. We asked what you thought about these guidelines, and found that screen time is an emotive subject. So this issue we’ve got a selection of your comments taking a look at what’s actually on the screens our children spend their time on. From top television to tips on navigating social media with your teens, we’ve covered a lot of ground. And we’ve got some fantastic contributors talking about the programmes and films that shaped them, for good and for bad.  

Thanks to everyone that contributed their time and energy to our survey last month – you’ve still got time to add your thoughts now on our new directions. Or comment or drop us a line on Facebook or Instagram, we love hearing from you.

We hope you enjoy this issue as much as we’ve enjoyed putting it together. Happy reading (on screen or not).