Governments all over the world are scrambling to introduce guidance on screen time and social media age restrictions in response to mounting evidence of harm to children from use of digital devices. But screens are such a huge part of all of our lives, it will take more than top-down policies to bring about the change we want to see, writes Rebecca McQuillan

Is too much screen time bad for kids? Well, here’s a cautionary tale. Norway has seen a worrying decline in children’s reading ability, worse than in other Scandinavian countries, which many link to the increased use of tablets.

While Norwegian children are still above average for reading in various international surveys, they have tumbled down the rankings. Norwegian experts and observers point to the impact of digital devices in a country where children are given tablets when they start school. If children have access to games and zany videos on a computer, books fall out of favour, the argument goes. In a bid to undo that unintentional harm, the Norwegian government has made big efforts to attract children into libraries and said children aged 6-12 should have a maximum of 1.5 hours of screen time a day.

The thought of children discarding books in favour of blaring animated videos will cause pangs of regret to anyone who loves kids’ books. The idea that an iPad could trump We’re Going On A Bear Hunt or Just You & Me is just plain sad.

But the wider concern is that device use is setting back children’s education and their social, physical and mental wellbeing. The Norwegians’ drive to bring back books is part of a wave of action across the world to try and roll back the unforeseen adverse effects of digitising childhood.

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