The study involved almost 12,000 nine-to-ten-year-olds from 24 diverse sites across the United States.
A theme emerging from careful research on screen time & kids.
Young people are using screens more than ever.
These devices includelaptops, smart phones, televisions, tablets, gaming devices and family computers.
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Surveyshave found almost all high school students and two-thirds of primary school students own a screen-based equipment.
Screen use during the pandemic highlights the importance of quality over quantity.
Children are spending at least athird of their daystaring at screens.
Most concernsrelate to screen time being associated with depression, anxiety, self-esteem, social interactions and sleep quality.
What did this latest study investigate?
They reported on their childs grades at school, their sleep quantity and quality, family income and race.
The children independently completed a 14-item screen time questionnaire about the different types of recreational media use on screens.
They were also asked how many close friends they have.
I hope the myth ‘Screens=bad’ will die.
What you do behind those screens matters.
Study of 12K kids find no links with depression/anxiety.
More screen time = closer friends.
These effects were not confirmed as directly due to screen time.
Survey design matters too
Its important thatsurveysare easily understood and suitable for the participants.
They also might not yet fully understand their own behaviors or habits.
In the screen-time questionnaire, the maximum time category was four hours a day and above.
This will not identify excessive use.
Other major considerations include the different ways children engage with devices.
For example, screen time can involve interactional, recreational or passive entertainment.
Different devices also require different levels of screenintensity.
The different screen time intensities havevaryinglevels of influence on childrens mental health,life satisfactionand interactions.
Researchers strongly emphasize measuring thequalityof screen time, rather than the quantity.
How do you define close friends?
The social survey focused on how many close friends a child has.
This will not always mean social quality.
