Overview
- The Department of Health and Human Services published a 43‑page surgeon general’s advisory and toolkit on May 20, 2026, compiled by HHS staff and released with a statement from Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.; the document is an advisory, not a binding rule.
- The guidance sets age‑based recommendations: no screen time for children under 18 months, under one hour daily for children 18 months to 6 years, and up to two hours daily for children ages 6 to 18.
- For schools the advisory endorses 'bell‑to‑bell' cellphone bans, recommends prioritizing paper‑and‑pencil assignments and physical textbooks, and says districts should keep devices in labs rather than issuing them for all‑day use, with exceptions for individualized special‑education plans.
- HHS warns that engagement‑driven platform features can produce 'addiction‑like' behaviors and asks tech companies to redesign interfaces, display warnings, strengthen child privacy and offer tools that nudge children toward healthier activities.
- The advisory cites mounting but incomplete evidence linking excess screen use to poor sleep, lower school performance, less physical activity and worse mental health, and it calls for longitudinal research while leaving implementation to parents, schools, states and tech industry action.