Resource Center
"Control of Space Invaders and Other Electronic Games" - Now Social Media 4 Decades Later
UK Parliament Members are considering legislation to limit Social Media time to 2 hours daily for children. This was attempted before in 1981 to restrict children from playing “Space Invaders”. It failed to pass in the Parliament.
While this new legislation might seem helpful, it really does not limit overall social media time across platforms and may lull parent into a false sense of security.
The LaunchPad not only allows parents to set the amount of social media time across all platforms it allows parents to restrict use based on the child’s age and maturity level.
Arcade System was available for sale at Walmart:
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Arcade1Up-Space-Invaders-Arcade-4ft/678837037
The Vicious Media Cycle
A large scale meta-analysis reviewing 117 longitudinal studies reported what we already know. Excess screen time can result in socioemotional difficulties and socioemotional difficulties can result in excess screen time. A Media Cycle of Dependency was developed many years ago to inform prevention and treatment of screen time excess.
Child Safety vs. First Amendment - Again
On June 3, 2025 a federal judge granted a preliminary injunction against Florida, temporarily blocking a bill signed into law by Governor Ron Desantis in 2024 that restricted access to social media to children in his state under the age of 16. Here we go again!
The ongoing debate of this and similar cases demonstrates the complexity of navigating multiple sides of the political, ideological, technical and commercial landscape of our increasingly online world. This news and opinion article explores the causes and possible solutions to clearing the roadblocks and to help parents keep their children safe on social media platforms.
Prescription for Loneliness?
Dr. Vivek Murthy, former US Surgeon General, shared on Meet the Press that loneliness is an epidemic among young people today. If parents delay the introduction of the smartphone, limit entertainment screen time and enrich their children’s lives off screen, can that make a difference? Sentinel Computers believes the LaunchPad can assist parents do exactly that and meet the moment of crisis in America.
Resource Center
Welcome to the new Resource Center for Sentinel Computers. This blog site is a place for updates, news and commentary on recent developments related to screen time safety and wellbeing. The Resource Center is intended for parents, health professionals, educators, journalists and those struggling with problematic screen time use.