Rogers will be launching a national program to help reduce screen use in youth after a new study found children between 11 and 17 years old were spending over five hours a day on their phones.
The study commissioned by the telecommunications company found the amount of time children spend on their phone far exceeds the two-hour time limit set by the Canadian Paediatric Society.
Only one in three youth think their screen time is a problem and excessive screen use is affecting teenagers mental, physical needs and their development.
Nine in 10 parents polled said their kids spent too much time on their phone, but underestimated the average screen time for a youth by over an hour and a half.
The new national program called Screen Break will focus on four different programs in order to reduce screen time.
Rogers will be investing $50 million over five years in the programs that include parental tools, youth programming, research and partnerships and education and advocacy.
“Connectivity brings us together and it connects us to the world around us, but excessive screen time is a real concern for our customers,” said Tony Staffieri, President and CEO, Rogers.
“We want to help tweens and teens continue to enjoy the amazing benefits of being connected while recognizing there are times to take a screen break.”
The parental tools include a section of the Rogers Xfinity app that allows parents to set time limits and monitor their kids time on popular apps.
A national in-school program will feature professional athletes talking to youth about healthy screen use along with hosting “Unplug and Play” events throughout the year.
Four national youth organizations that encourage active living, including the YMCA, will also be issued grants.
Meanwhile, research will include an annual study commission by Rogers to look at screen time use among youth and a partnership with Dais, a public policy and leadership think tank, at Toronto Metropolitan University to engage youth in building healthy digital habits.
Athletes including George Springer, Connor McDavid, John Tavares, Marie-Philip Poulin and Sarah Nurse will also be involved in the education and advocacy portion of the programs, by sharing their thoughts on screen time in a series of videos.
Dr. Michelle Ponti, a pediatrician in London, Ont., and the chair of the Canadian Paediatric Society’s digital health task force, said with electronic devices so prevalent in the lives of youth, said more needs to be done to teach them to be healthier with screen time.
“Anyone that is seeing kids in clinical practice, this is a way of life for kids now,” she told CityNews on Thursday.
“We’re seeing learning delays, language delays in the younger kids. We’re seeing more anxiety. We’re seeing more issues around self-esteem, weight issues. So it is certainly impacting our kids not only from the physical point of view, but also from the social, emotional and learning point of view as well.”
The Canadian Paediatric Society offers a centralized hub of information on how to address screen time usage, but Ponti said addressing the issue starts with how guardians are modelling their own behaviour.
“Start with some small tasks. Make a small change,” she said.
“Keep screens out of the bedroom. Put screens away at mealtimes … show your kids that you can put your own device down in a way and that helps to break that cycle for the whole family.”
The poll was conducted between Oct. 30 and Nov. 11, 2025 among 1,213 parents who were members of the Angus Reid Forum and 513 children between 11 and 17 years old.
It is accurate within +/- 2.8 per cent for parents and +/- 4.4 per cent for children, 19 times out of 20. 4.4% (11-17 year-olds), 19 times out of 20.
Rogers is the parent company of CityNews and its affiliates
With files from Nick Westoll