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Screen time in the Coronavirus 2019 era: international trends of increasing use among 3- to 7-year-old children
journal contribution
posted on 2023-06-10, 03:00 authored by Andrew D Ribner, Linsah Coulanges, Samantha Friedman, Melissa E Libertus, Claire Hughes, Sarah Foley, Rory Devine, Elian FinkElian Fink, Amy Selby, Karin Brocki, Matilda Frick, Farzaneh Badinlou, Xin Feng, Meingold Chan, Virginia Slaughter, I-FAM-Covid Consortium, othersObjective To evaluate changes in electronic screen-based media use in 3- to 7-year-old children across 6 countries as a result of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Study design Between April and July 2020, parents of 2516 children completed online survey measures reporting current (“now”) and retrospective (“before the pandemic”) screen-based media use for the purposes of entertainment, educational app use, and socializing with family and friends. Parents also reported family socioeconomic characteristics and impacts of the pandemic to their physical wellbeing (eg, whether a family member or friend had been diagnosed with COVID-19) and social disruption (eg, whether family experienced a loss of income or employment due to the pandemic). Results On average, children engaged with screens more than 50 minutes more during the pandemic than before. This was largely driven by increases in screen use for entertainment purposes (nearly 40 minutes) and for use of educational apps (over 20 minutes). There was no overall change in screen use for socializing with family and friends. Children from lower socioeconomic status households increased screen use both for entertainment and educational app use more so than did children from higher socioeconomic status households. Conclusions The global pandemic caused by COVID-19 has increased overall electronic screen-based media use. As lives become increasingly digital by necessity, further research is needed to better understand positive and negative consequences of electronic screen-based media use.
History
Publication status
- Published
File Version
- Accepted version
Journal
Journal of PediatricsISSN
0022-3476Publisher
ElsevierExternal DOI
Volume
239Page range
59-66.E1Event location
United StatesDepartment affiliated with
- Psychology Publications
Full text available
- Yes
Peer reviewed?
- Yes
Legacy Posted Date
2022-03-28First Open Access (FOA) Date
2022-08-28First Compliant Deposit (FCD) Date
2022-04-26Usage metrics
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