South African kids 'spend 9 hours a day on screens'

South Africa now tops the global charts for child screen time, with kids averaging nine hours and 24 minutes of screen time each day, nearly three hours more than the global norm of six hours 40 minutes.

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Experts link this digital overload to increased anxiety, disrupted sleep and lower academic performance.

Recent shifts in schools and homes point to a focused effort to reclaim screen-free interactions. Phone bans in some schools are being paired with analog entertainment which teachers say have reignited social buzz and improved academic focus.

Unicef's Growing Up in a Connected World report cautions that when children spend excessive time on devices, they lose vital opportunities for imaginative play, social interaction, and physical activity.

For families, this imbalance is fuelling concerns about attention, resilience, and emotional development, making the case for reclaiming screen-free play stronger.

"Parents tell us they feel stuck in a constant battle with screens," says Christiane Schwarz, senior marketing executive at ZURU.