Media use, face-to-face communication, media multitasking, and social well-being among 8-to 12-year-old girls
Abstract
An online survey of 3,461 North American girls ages 8-12 conducted in the summer of 2010 through Discovery Girls magazine examined the relationships between social well-being and young girls' media use--including video, video games, music listening, reading/homework, e-mailing/posting on social media sites, texting/instant messaging, and talking on phones/video chatting--and face-to-face communication. This study introduced both a more granular measure of media multitasking and a new comparative measure of media use versus time spent in face-to-face communication. Regression analyses indicated that negative social well-being was positively associated with levels of uses of media that are centrally about interpersonal interaction (e.g., phone, online communication) as well as uses of media that are not (e.g., video, music, and reading). Video use was particularly strongly associated with negative social well-being indicators. Media multitasking was also associated with negative social indicators. Conversely, face-to-face communication was strongly associated with positive social well-being. Cell phone ownership and having a television or computer in one's room had little direct association with children's socioemotional well-being. We hypothesize possible causes for these relationships, call for research designs to address causality, and outline possible implications of such findings for the social well-being of younger adolescents.
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Other studies found that media multitasking poses a potential threat to the mental health of the public.
“Other studies have even found that media multitasking poses a potential threat to the mental health of the public (10, 11).”
From Media multitasking, depression, and anxiety of college students: Serial mediating effects of attention control and negative information attentional bias (2022) · cites this paper as [11]
More media multitasking was related to fewer feelings of normalcy.
“and fewer feelings of normalcy (Pea et al., 2012).”
From The consequences of media multitasking for youth: A review (2015) · cites this paper as Pea et al., 2012
Both studies on social functioning found no relationship between media multitasking and social functioning.
“By contrast, both studies on social functioning found no relationship between media multitasking and social functioning (Pea et al., 2012;Shih, 2013).”
From The consequences of media multitasking for youth: A review (2015) · cites this paper as Pea et al., 2012
Two studies on sleep showed that more media multitasking was related to less sleep (r = -.09).
“Moreover, the two studies on sleep showed that more media multitasking was related to less sleep, r = À.09 (Calamaro et al., 2009;Pea et al., 2012),”
From The consequences of media multitasking for youth: A review (2015) · cites this paper as Pea et al., 2012
Two studies showed that media multitasking was related to problematic emotional functioning, with correlations from .05 to .19.
“the other two studies showed that media multitasking was related to problematic emotional functioning, r range = .05to .19.”
From The consequences of media multitasking for youth: A review (2015) · cites this paper as Pea et al., 2012
Face-to-face communication frequency was linked to greater social success.
“frequency of face-to-face communication, on the other hand, was associated with higher levels of social success.”
From Transformation of Adolescent Peer Relations in the Social Media Context: Part 1—A Theoretical Framework and Application to Dyadic Peer Relationships (2018) · cites this paper as Pea et al. 2012
In preadolescent girls, higher media multitasking was linked to lower social success, including fewer friends and less acceptance.
“Furthermore, in a cross-sectional study of preadolescent girls, those who engaged in higher levels of media multitasking showed lower levels of social success, including having fewer friends and feeling less accepted (Pea et al. 2012)”
From Transformation of Adolescent Peer Relations in the Social Media Context: Part 1—A Theoretical Framework and Application to Dyadic Peer Relationships (2018) · cites this paper as Pea et al. 2012
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BackgroundYouth Screen Time and Behavioral Health Problems: The Role of Sleep Duration and Disturbances
Parent, J., Sanders, W., & Forehand, R. (2016) · Journal of Developmental & Behavioral Pediatrics · doi:10.1097/dbp.0000000000000272 · Cited by 131 · see citing works
“Measures Youth Weekly Screen Time Parents were asked 2 questions regarding their child’s screen time: “Now thinking about (target child)’s typical activities, on a typical weekday (“weekend” in second question) how much time does (target child) spend doing each of the following at home?” Parents responded with the num…”
MethodLongitudinal associations between changes in screen-time and mental health outcomes in adolescents
Babic, M. J., Smith, J. J., Morgan, P. J., Eather, N., Plotnikoff, R. C., & Lubans, D. R. (2017) · Mental Health and Physical Activity · doi:10.1016/j.mhpa.2017.04.001 · Cited by 137 · see citing works
Digital Device Usage and Childhood Cognitive Development: Exploring Effects on Cognitive Abilities
Clemente‐Suárez, V. J., Beltrán-Velasco, A. I., Herrero-Roldán, S., Rodríguez-Besteiro, S., Martínez‐Guardado, I., Martín-Rodríguez, A., & Tornero-Aguilera, J. F. (2024) · Children · doi:10.3390/children11111299 · Cited by 211 · see citing works
New technologies and 21st century children
Graafland, J. H. (2018) · OECD education working papers · doi:10.1787/e071a505-en · Cited by 131 · see citing works
Rodgers, R. F. (2016) · Adolescent Research Review · doi:10.1007/s40894-015-0017-5 · Cited by 112 · see citing works
“Developmentally, this is very relevant in that many of the interpersonal processes that are important for social-emotional development may now be transitioning to the online environment, which could result in poorer psychosocial wellbeing (Pea et al. 2012).”
BackgroundThe Mobile Generation: Youth and Adolescent Ownership and Use of New Media
Lauricella, A. R., Cingel, D. P., Blackwell, C., Wartella, E., & Conway, A. (2014) · Communication Research Reports · doi:10.1080/08824096.2014.963221 · Cited by 112 · see citing works
“There is evidence, however, that media multitasking during these years is associated with negative social well-being (Pea et al., 2012).”
BackgroundCardoso-Leite, P., & Bavelier, D. (2014) · Current Opinion in Neurology · doi:10.1097/wco.0000000000000077 · Cited by 111 · see citing works
Loh, K. K., & Kanai, R. (2014) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0106698 · Cited by 141 · see citing works
Adolescent internet addiction - role of parental control and adolescent behaviours
Martins, M. V., Formiga, A., dos Santos, C. S., Sousa, D. S. M., Resende, C., Campos, R., Nogueira, N. B. A., Carvalho, P. S., & Ferreira, S. (2019) · International Journal of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine · doi:10.1016/j.ijpam.2019.12.003 · Cited by 109 · see citing works
“Moreover, as the youth are known to be media multitaskers [16,19] we enquired about which devices they used online.”
BackgroundBaumgartner, S. E., Lemmens, J. S., Weeda, W. D., & Huizinga, M. (2016) · Journal of Media Psychology Theories Methods and Applications · doi:10.1027/1864-1105/a000167 · Cited by 102 · see citing works
Media multitasking and well-being of university students
Xu, S., Wang, Z., & David, P. (2015) · Computers in Human Behavior · doi:10.1016/j.chb.2015.08.040 · Cited by 101 · see citing works
“, 2009) and are associated with a wide range of positive social and psychological feelings (Pea et al., 2012).”
BackgroundMethodResultInfluentialInformation overload, stress, and emergency managerial thinking
Misra, S., Roberts, P. S., & Rhodes, M. (2020) · International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction · doi:10.1016/j.ijdrr.2020.101762 · Cited by 98 · see citing works
Is the i generation a ‘we’ generation? Social networking use among 9‐ to 13‐year‐olds and belonging
Quinn, S., & Oldmeadow, J. A. (2012) · British Journal of Developmental Psychology · doi:10.1111/bjdp.12007 · Cited by 92 · see citing works
Baumgartner, S. E., van der Schuur, W. A., Lemmens, J. S., & te Poel, F. (2018) · Human Communication Research · doi:10.1093/hcre.12111 · Cited by 91 · see citing works
“The large majority of studies on the potential cognitive e ff ects of media multitasking are based on self ‐ reported measures of media multitasking (see Ophir et al., 2009; Pea et al., 2012; Ralph et al., 2013; Sanbonmatsu et al., 2013).”
Kim, J.-H. (2017) · Computers in Human Behavior · doi:10.1016/j.chb.2017.11.025 · Cited by 96 · see citing works
“Except for a few (Kim et al., 2015; Pea et al., 2012), there has been rarely any study looking at the role of FtF interaction in the effects of media on users' well-being.”
BackgroundScreenomics: a new approach for observing and studying individuals’ digital lives.
Ram, N., Yang, X., Cho, M.-J., Brinberg, M., Muirhead, F., Reeves, B., & Robinson, T. N. (2020) · Journal of Adolescent Research · doi:10.1177/0743558419883362 · Cited by 83 · see citing works
“Inferences range from statements about how adolescents from different eras use media differently (Twenge, 2017) to gender differences in social media dependence (Pea et al., 2012) to multitasking effects that differ by cognitive abilities (Ophir, Nass, & Wagner, 2009).”
BackgroundLen-Ríos, M. E., Hughes, H. E., McKee, L. G., & Young, H. N. (2015) · Public Relations Review · doi:10.1016/j.pubrev.2015.10.003 · Cited by 86 · see citing works
Risk Behaviors and Negative Health Outcomes for Adolescents with Late Bedtimes
McGlinchey, E. L., & Harvey, A. G. (2014) · Journal of Youth and Adolescence · doi:10.1007/s10964-014-0110-2 · Cited by 81 · see citing works
“, interactions with peers, including instant messaging, text messaging, and cell phones) (Kauderer and Randler 2012; Pea et al. 2012) and increased use of alcohol and other substances that contribute to sleep disruption (Wong et al.”
van den Eijnden, R. J. J. M., Geurts, S. M., ter Bogt, T., van der Rijst, V. G., & Koning, I. M. (2021) · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · doi:10.3390/ijerph18031346 · Cited by 84 · see citing works
“Adolescents who frequently use social media during the day report less total sleep time [17] and poorer sleep quality [18].”
BackgroundMedia Multitasking: Good, Bad, or Ugly?
Lang, A., & Chrzan, J. (2015) · Annals of the International Communication Association · doi:10.1080/23808985.2015.11679173 · Cited by 79 · see citing works
“…media attention and the most commonly promulgated findings are that people are poor multitaskers, that people are unable to multitask, or that multitasking actively damages cognition and concentration (Ophir, Nass, & Wagner, 2009; Pea et al., 2012; Srivastava, 2013; Wang & Tchernev, 2012).”
BackgroundLai, F. T. T., & Kwan, J. L. Y. (2016) · Computers in Human Behavior · doi:10.1016/j.chb.2016.11.021 · Cited by 73 · see citing works
“In addition, better access to the Internet such as exclusive personal computer ownership might have induced more social media use in adolescents from higher income families (Pea et al., 2012).”
BackgroundMark, G. J., Iqbal, S. T., Czerwinski, M. P., & Johns, P. (2014) · ACM Conference on Computer Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW) · doi:10.1145/2531602.2531673 · Cited by 72 · see citing works
Hunter, J. F., Hooker, E. D., Rohleder, N., & Pressman, S. D. (2018) · Psychosomatic Medicine · doi:10.1097/psy.0000000000000568 · Cited by 70 · see citing works
“Most research has concentrated on the negative ramifications of technological engagement such as poorer psychological (1,2) and physical health (3,4) and worse health behaviors (5,6).”
BackgroundMethodThe Effects of Chronic Multitasking on Analytical Writing
Lottridge, D. M., Rosakranse, C., Oh, C. S., Westwood, S. J., Baldoni, K. A., Mann, A. S., & Nass, C. (2015) · CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems · doi:10.1145/2702123.2702367 · Cited by 70 · see citing works
“The impact begins at a young age; in a survey of 3,461 North American girls aged 8-12, multitasking was inversely face-to-face communication, feelings of social success, and sleep [19].”
BackgroundSelf-citationEveryday functioning-related cognitive correlates of media multitasking: a mini meta-analysis
Wiradhany, W., & Koerts, J. (2019) · Media Psychology · doi:10.1080/15213269.2019.1685393 · Cited by 71 · see citing works
“In a large-scale study which involved 3461 8-12-year-old girls, Pea et al. (2012) found that media multitasking was positively correlated with social success, but it was negatively correlated with normalcy feelings, positive feelings, and social stress.”
BackgroundLuqman, A., Masood, A., Weng, Q. D., Ali, A., & Rasheed, M. I. (2020) · Information Systems Management · doi:10.1080/10580530.2020.1732527 · Cited by 71 · see citing works
“For example, the increased use of the Internet for enjoyment is associated with sleep disorders (Pea et al., 2012) such as sleeping late and increased waking hours (Shochat, Flint-Bretler, & Tzischinsky, 2010), along with lower sleep quality (Choi et al., 2009) and feelings of exhaustion (Luqman et…”
BackgroundIs internet use unhealthy? A cross-sectional study of adolescent internet overuse
Suris, J.-C., Akré, C., Piguet, C., Ambresin, A., Zimmermann, G., & Berchtold, A. (2014) · Swiss Medical Weekly · doi:10.4414/smw.2014.14061 · Cited by 67 · see citing works
“As adolescents are known to be media multitaskers [32], we also controlled the number of devices used to connect to the Internet, with six possible answers: console, computer, smartphone, tablet, television, and other.”
BackgroundYoung, R., Len-Ríos, M. E., & Young, H. N. (2017) · Computers in Human Behavior · doi:10.1016/j.chb.2017.04.021 · Cited by 71 · see citing works
Vlaanderen, A., Bevelander, K. E., & Kleemans, M. (2020) · Computers in Human Behavior · doi:10.1016/j.chb.2020.106459 · Cited by 74 · see citing works
“Despite the benefits of social media for children, such as building and maintaining prosocial relationships (Jacobsen & Forste, 2011; Kir-iukhina, 2019; Pea et al., 2012), it also carries risks by exposing users to cyberbullying (Shakir et al., 2019).”
Media multitasking and sleep problems: A longitudinal study among adolescents
van der Schuur, W. A., Baumgartner, S. E., Sumter, S. R., & Valkenburg, P. M. (2018) · Computers in Human Behavior · doi:10.1016/j.chb.2017.12.024 · Cited by 62 · see citing works
“As studies have only examined the cross-sectional relationship between media multitasking and sleep problems (Calamaro et al., 2009; Mark et al., 2016; Pea et al., 2012), empirical evidence for a reciprocal relationship between media multitasking and sleep problems is lacking.”
ICT Exposure and the Level of Wellbeing and Progress: A Cross Country Analysis
Maiti, D., & Awasthi, A. (2019) · Social Indicators Research · doi:10.1007/s11205-019-02153-5 · Cited by 67 · see citing works
Individual differences in media multitasking and performance on the n-back
Ralph, B. C. W., & Smilek, D. (2016) · Attention Perception & Psychophysics · doi:10.3758/s13414-016-1260-y · Cited by 64 · see citing works
“…McCurdy, Lewis, & Younggren, 2013; Ophir et al., 2009; Ralph, Thomson, Seli, Carriere, & Smilek, 2015; Sanbonmatsu, Strayer, Medeiros-Ward, & Watson, 2013; Uncapher, Thieu, & Wagner, 2016) and personality traits (e.g., Pea et al., 2012; Sanbonmatsu et al., 2013; Shih, 2013; Wilmer & Chein, 2016).”
Adolescents’ real-time social and affective experiences of online and face-to-face interactions
Achterhof, R., Kirtley, O. J., Schneider, M., Hagemann, N., Hermans, K. S. F. M., Hiekkaranta, A. P., Lecei, A., Lafit, G., & Myin-Germeys, I. (2022) · Computers in Human Behavior · doi:10.1016/j.chb.2021.107159 · Cited by 62 · see citing works
Internet use time and mental health among rural adolescents in China: A longitudinal study
Ma, J., & Li, S. (2023) · Journal of Affective Disorders · doi:10.1016/j.jad.2023.05.054 · Cited by 60 · see citing works
Media use, attention, mental health and academic performance among 8 to 12 year old children
Cardoso-Leite, P., Buchard, A., Tissieres, I., Mussack, D., & Bavelier, D. (2021) · PLOS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0259163 · Cited by 72 · see citing works
“A relationship between higher levels of media multitasking and worse sleep has already been reported several times, both in children [52] and adolescents [51, PLOS ONE Media use, attention, mental health and academic performance among 8 to 12 year old children”
BackgroundMethodResultInfluentialMedia Multitasking: A Bibliometric Approach and Literature Review
Beuckels, E., Ye, G., Hudders, L., & Cauberghe, V. (2021) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2021.623643 · Cited by 56 · see citing works
“As these face-to-face interactions with peers are recognized as key determinants of socioemotional development, the decreased quality of these may thus have considerable consequences (Pea et al., 2012).”
BackgroundTaylor, A., Kong, C., Zhang, Z., Herold, F., Ludyga, S., Healy, S., Gerber, M., Cheval, B., Pontifex, M. B., Kramer, A. F., et al. (2023) · Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health · doi:10.1186/s13034-023-00588-w · Cited by 56 · see citing works
“Studies examining cognitive function in children and adults in the general population have also reported changes in the structure of the brain areas responsible for cognitive control and emotional regulation in association with addictive screen time behavior [63, 64].”
BackgroundUntangling the adverse effects of late-night usage of smartphone-based SNS among University students
Luqman, A., Masood, A., Shahzad, F., Shahbaz, M., & Feng, Y. (2021) · Behaviour & Information Technology · doi:10.1080/0144929x.2020.1773538 · Cited by 56 · see citing works
“The increased use of the Internet for enjoyment is associated with sleep disorders (Pea et al. 2012), such as late sleeping and waking times (Shochat, Flint-Bretler, and Tzischinsky 2010).”
BackgroundPatterson, M. C. (2017) · Teaching of Psychology · doi:10.1177/0098628316677913 · Cited by 55 · see citing works
“Lastly, media multitasking can include any combination mentioned above but can also include no digital media activities, such doing homework or having dinner (Pea et al., 2012).”
BackgroundInfluentialMurphy, K. A., McLauchlan, S., & Lee, M. (2017) · Computers in Human Behavior · doi:10.1016/j.chb.2017.06.001 · Cited by 55 · see citing works
“…score (Lui & Wong, 2012; Ophir et al., 2009), MMI scores in the upper and lower quartiles (Cain & Mitroff, 2011; Sanbonmatsu et al, 2013) or the top and bottom 10% of media use scores (Baumgartner et al., 2014 used a media use inventory adapted from both Pea et al., 2012 and Ophir et al., 2009).”
MethodConnecting offline social competence to online peer interactions.
Reich, S. M. (2016) · Psychology of Popular Media Culture · doi:10.1037/ppm0000111 · Cited by 54 · see citing works
Terry, C. A., Mishra, P., & Roseth, C. J. (2016) · Computers in Human Behavior · doi:10.1016/j.chb.2016.08.009 · Cited by 53 · see citing works
“To this point, numerous studies have examined the relationship between anxiety and media multitasking (e.g., Becker, Alzahabi, & Hopwood, 2013; Pea et al., 2012; Rosen, Whaling, Rab, Carrier, & Cheever, 2013).”
BackgroundThe Effects of Immersion and Real-World Distractions on Virtual Social Interactions
Oh, C. S., Herrera, F., & Bailenson, J. N. (2019) · Cyberpsychology Behavior and Social Networking · doi:10.1089/cyber.2018.0404 · Cited by 57 · see citing works
“29,30 However, few studies 31,32 have explored how engaging in different sensory information influences short-term interpersonal outcomes.”
Kim, J.-H. (2019) · Journal of Media Psychology · doi:10.1027/1864-1105/a000234 · Cited by 51 · see citing works
Shutzman, B., & Gershy, N. (2022) · Computers in Human Behavior · doi:10.1016/j.chb.2022.107559 · Cited by 52 · see citing works
Child and Adolescent Use of Mobile Phones: An Unparalleled Complex Developmental Phenomenon
Yan, Z. (2017) · Child Development · doi:10.1111/cdev.12821 · Cited by 51 · see citing works
Friends or Frenemies? The Role of Social Technology in the Lives of Older People
ten Bruggencate, T., Luijkx, K. G., & Sturm, J. (2019) · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · doi:10.3390/ijerph16244969 · Cited by 52 · see citing works
“Spitzer [40] argued that social skills are better taught through face-to-face contact [41].”
BackgroundIntimacy and Smartphone Multitasking—A New Oxymoron?
Amichai‐Hamburger, Y., & Etgar, S. (2016) · Psychological Reports · doi:10.1177/0033294116662658 · Cited by 52 · see citing works
“Heavy multitasking was also shown to take a toll on social life, since the practice leads to fewer face-to-face interactions (Pea et al., 2012) and higher social anxiety, both related to lower well-being (Becker, Alzahabi, & Hopwood, 2013).”
BackgroundKarsay, K., Trekels, J., Eggermont, S., & Vandenbosch, L. (2020) · Mass Communication & Society · doi:10.1080/15205436.2020.1827432 · Cited by 49 · see citing works
Adorjan, M., & Ricciardelli, R. (2021) · Canadian Review of Sociology/Revue canadienne de sociologie · doi:10.1111/cars.12319 · Cited by 57 · see citing works
Gender, technology use and ownership, and media-based multitasking among middle school students
Cotten, S. R., Shank, D. B., & Anderson, W. A. (2014) · Computers in Human Behavior · doi:10.1016/j.chb.2014.02.041 · Cited by 46 · see citing works
The Influence of Texting Language on Grammar and Executive Functions in Primary School Children
van Dijk, C. N., van Witteloostuijn, M., Vasić, N., Avrutin, S., & Blom, E. (2016) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0152409 · Cited by 46 · see citing works
“However, these studies have investigated switching between various types of media and have not focused specifically on mobile phone usage (but see [24]).”
Borah, P. (2015) · New Media & Society · doi:10.1177/1461444815621512 · Cited by 45 · see citing works
“For example, we could use psychological concepts such as multi-tasking and switching tasks (Pea et al., 2012; Rosen et al., 2013) to understand how social media use affects us.”
MethodMentoring in the digital age: Social media use in adult-youth relationships
Schwartz, S. E. O., Rhodes, J. E., Liang, B., Sánchez, B., Spencer, R., Kremer, S., & Kanchewa, S. (2014) · Children and Youth Services Review · doi:10.1016/j.childyouth.2014.09.004 · Cited by 44 · see citing works
“At the same time, media use among younger girls (ages 8–12) has been shown to be associated with negative social well-being (Pea et al., 2012), suggesting that adolescents may be able to use media more effectively than younger children.”
BackgroundSrivastava, J., Nakazawa, M., & Chen, Y. (2016) · Computers in Human Behavior · doi:10.1016/j.chb.2016.04.040 · Cited by 45 · see citing works
- Authors
- Pea, R., Nass, C., Meheula, L., Rance, M., Kumar, A., Bamford, H., Nass, M., Simha, A., Stillerman, B., Yang, S., & Zhou, M.
- Affiliations
- Stanford University (US)
- Venue
- Developmental Psychology
- Published
- 2012
- Volume
- 48
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 327-336
- ISSN
- 0012-1649 (ISSN-L)
- 1939-0599
- OpenAlex
- W2118360093
- Cited by
- 375
- References
- 44
- Citations by year
- 2026: 3 · 2025: 12 · 2024: 20 · 2023: 21 · 2022: 31 · 2021: 26 · 2020: 28 · 2019: 35 · 2018: 35 · 2017: 41 · 2016: 35 · 2015: 36 · 2014: 29 · 2013: 18 · 2012: 5
- FWCI
- 136.29
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Developmental Psychology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- National Science Foundation (NSF-0835854, NSF-0841556)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Education › Child Development and Digital Technology
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Impact of Technology on Adolescents
- Physical Sciences › Computer Science › Computer Networks and Communications › Media and Digital Communication
- Keywords
- media use, face-to-face communication, media multitasking, social well-being, social and emotional wellbeing, young girls, children, video use, video games, instant messaging, mobile phone ownership, social media, homework, reading, interpersonal communication
- MeSH terms
- Child, Child Behavior, Communication, Emotions, Female, Humans, Interpersonal Relations, Predictive Value of Tests, Regression Analysis, Sex Factors, Sleep, Video Recording, Electronic Mail, Social Media
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