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DES MOINES, Iowa – Experts are advising people to use less screen time as a New Year’s resolution.

According to a study done by Lancet children between eight and 11 who spend more than two hours in front of a screen each day were associated with lower cognitive functions.

This is from children using smartphones, tablets, and computers. The study suggests that using social media and a phone does not help with a child’s attention span, memory, and classroom performance.

According to a Pew Research study about 95 percent of teens have their own smartphone and of those 45 percent said they are constantly on the internet.

The study showed that teen girls will use the app “Snapchat” more than teen boys. While teen boys are more likely to use “YouTube.”

There are ways to monitor screen time usage on electronic devices. Apple has a build in software called “Screen Time” that shows how much time you spend on certain apps each day.

Protect Young Eyes Founder Chris McKenna said, “Have conversations with your kids, about what the expectations are, how you expect them to use it, because kids aren’t typically just born knowing how to use the internet well.”

Some suggested apps to help monitor screen time usage include: App Blocker, Schedules, Kids Tracker, App List, Family Locator, Quality Time and Block Testing.