The 5.2 Project shows parents how much screen time their teens are averaging

A psychologist says exercise, green space and yoga are the best alternatives to screen time

Published May 23, 2026  •  4 minute read

Kaiden Orth-Gauther, 15, of Oshawa took part in Rogers Screen Break's The 5.2 Project which showed parents how long their teens averaged on their devices. Photo by Handout /Rogers Screen Break/The 5.2 Project

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When it comes to tweens and teens, how much screen time is too much screen time?

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A study commissioned by Rogers found younger Canadian average 5.2 hours daily on their phones.

The study further found that nine in 10 were exceeding the two-hour screen time limit recommended by the Canadian Pediatric Society.

“A preoccupation with screentime can actually influence anxiety and depression,” said Toronto performance psychologist Dr. Dana Sinclair.

“If you’re always on your screen and you’re thinking about what everybody else is doing, and what you should be doing, then yes, it becomes a mental health issue.”

Thus, The 5.2 Project was launched on May 2 (5/2) by Rogers on their website as part of their Screen Break initiative, a national five-year, $50-million program to help teens balance daily device use.

The documentary-style video captures three different Greater Toronto Area teens in April using screen time that was packaged into 5.2 hours of raw footage for each of their parents to watch and react to, with a short (2:47) screener version available for the public to see on YouTube.

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Eye-opening look for parents

Oshawa parent Jeff Gauthier said it was eye opening to learn his 15-year-old son Kaiden averaged 8.22 hours of screen time a day.

“I was like, ‘Oh, man, this is painful,’’ said Gauthier. “Because I think they wanted experientially the parent to feel how much 5.2 hours is and I felt it. On one hand, I’m like, ‘That’s a lot of hours. That is surprising.’ On the other hand, you see people walking around all over the place and their phone is like an appendage. Now it isn’t about getting rid of it entirely. So it’s not like we’re going to eliminate it. But it is about, ‘How do we balance it?’”

Gauthier, who is a youth psychotherapist, says he was concerned previously about his son’s screen time, but even more so after this experience.

“I’m constantly like, ‘Hey bud, you got to do something else. You’ve got to get off the phone. Do you have homework? How long have you been on the video game for?‘” he said.

“Because it’s not just his phone use, it’s also other screens. And then inviting him to do other things. As a family we do board games right? And we taught him how to play Euchre when he was like five ‘cause sometimes you need a fourth. And I taught him how to play chess. To his credit he plays rep hockey (the highest tier of minor hockey), which is an enormous commitment for a 15 year old. From September through April, you’re usually looking at four to five nights a week.”

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While nine in 10 parents surveyed think youth spend too much time on their phones, only one in three youth think their screen time is a problem.

Screen time phenomenon ‘is a problem’

“This generation has grown up with phones unlike me so of course it’s phone based, away from social relationships and one-on-ones and outdoor experiences,” said Sinclair.

“It is a problem. People don’t advance themselves if they’re always on a screen looking at what other people are doing. It’s always at the expense of real social relationships right? It’s mental clutter which prevents focus and action and increases tension.”

Ontario is considering a social media and cellphone ban on school properties with Education Minister Paul Calandra saying in late April that most ministers of education across the country are in agreement that it has not been beneficial to allow students to have access to their devices.

Both Gauthier and Sinclair think phones out of the classrooms – but still available before and after school – isn’t a bad idea.

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“The best advice overwhelmingly is to just put it down, even for 20 minutes, even an hour, in class, at meals, keep it out the bedroom at bedtime,” said Sinclair.

“Adolescent mental health is being compromised and the most effective, best self-interventions for mental health, again the anxiety, depression, is to exercise, workout, walk, run, do 20 pushups, get into some green space, and do some yoga. Those are the actual top rhree that have been documented in studies. Exercise, get into green space, and yoga.”

Added Gauthier: “Our job (as parents) would be not only to bridge the conversation (but) then also offering suggestions. You’ve got to have a strategy. You can’t just say, ‘OK, get off your phone.’ Well, then what? So for us it’s going to be, ‘Hey, how about we set up a game at the kitchen table?’ Or I went out and I shot hoops with him last week. How do we encourage a balanced amount of behaviour?”

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