You've heard the screen time debate before. We all have.
Too much of it. Not enough supervision. It's bad for children, harmful, wrong. And yet we live in a world where there's more of it every year. The worst part is that (and this is hard to admit) sometimes that screen time is genuinely good for your mental health and your sanity. And then it gets worse, because you feel terrible guilt about needing that moment of peace.
And yet - as is so often the case in psychology (and perhaps in life) - there are no simple answers. There are two sides to every coin. Nothing is black or white. And (the favourite saying of psychologists everywhere): it depends.
But depends on what, exactly?
On several things, among them... the presence and involvement of an adult (who would have thought?). In this particular case - involvement in a child's use of digital media. Researchers gave this a name: Joint Media Engagement (JME).
What does joint screen time actually mean?
Being in the same room isn't enough. Nodding along while one eye drifts to your own phone isn't enough. It's about sharing the experience - watching and talking about what's happening on screen together. Think of it as the digital version of reading a picture book side by side.
In Naniby, the difference is that the book writes itself in real time, and your child is making up the story as it goes.
A tablet behaves much more like a book than a digital babysitter - but only when an engaged adult is sitting alongside. Even with a cup of coffee in hand. It's largely that presence that gives the whole thing MEANING, because more parental involvement equals less passive screen time for children.
So when can screen time actually be good?
Lori Takeuchi and Reed Stevens - leading researchers in the field of digital media's impact on children's learning and family interaction - identified six conditions for productive JME. These became something of a guiding light for us while building Naniby:
- Mutual engagement: Everyone involved should be equally motivated to take part and find the activity genuinely worthwhile. No going through the motions. No participating purely out of obligation to the other person.
- Dialogic inquiry: The activity should inspire collaboration - making sense of things together. This can take the form of conversation, but also other kinds of interaction where adults support children's thinking by asking questions and encouraging reflection.
- Co-creation: Partners don't just consume media together - they use it to build something. That might be a physical or digital artefact (a drawing, a little film) or simply a shared understanding of something. It requires dialogue and coordination.
- Boundary crossing: Productive JME spills beyond the moment itself. Interactions are sparked by earlier experiences (a walk in the woods, say) and inspire future ones (building a "house" in the garden after watching a story about one indoors).
- Intention to develop: At least one of the participants wants the experience to lead somewhere - for themselves or for the other person. This requires an awareness of each other's needs and interests.
- Focus on content, not control: The medium should let partners focus on the story itself rather than on operating the device. The technology and interface shouldn't get in the way - and instructions like "don't touch!" or "wait, not yet!" should be as rare as possible.
How Naniby uses this
Our personal ambition is for screen time to carry real value - and, where possible, to bring parent and child closer together.
Phase 1 of Naniby is built entirely around this idea. You sit next to your child. They have the tablet. You have the parent app (Backstage) on your phone. You catch their ideas as they arrive ("MAKE THE BANANA FIND A ROCKET!") and send them through. The AI builds a world around you both in seconds. After each session, our prompts help you carry the story into the real world - no screen required. Naniby wasn't designed to replace you. It was designed to bring you together - to meet in the digital space that, in all likelihood, is already there between you.
Reviewed by Katarzyna Babka, MA, psychologist, specialist in child and adolescent psychotherapy.
The Research
- The Importance of Play in Promoting Healthy Child Development
American Academy of Pediatrics report on play's critical role in development.
- Play and Brain Development
Research on how play shapes neural architecture in early childhood.
- The Power of Play
Child Mind Institute's guide to understanding play's benefits.