Type of screen time moderates effects on outcomes in 4013 children: evidence from the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children
Open accessAbstract
Background: Excessive engagement with digital screens is harmful to children’s health. However, new evidence suggests that exposure at moderate levels may not be harmful and may even provide benefit. Therefore, our objective was to determine if there are curvilinear relationships between different types of screen time and a diverse set of outcomes, including health and education. Methods: We address our objective using a repeated measures design. Children (N = 4013), initially aged 10–11 were assessed every 2 years between 2010 and 2014. Children’s screen time behavior was measured using time-use diaries, and categorized into five types: social, passive, interactive, educational, or other. We used measures of children’s physical health, health-related quality of life, socio-emotional outcomes, and school achievement. The analysis plan was pre-registered. Models were adjusted for gender, socio-economic status, ethnicity, number of siblings, and housing factors. Results: There were linear associations between total screen time and all outcomes, such that more screen time was associated with worse outcomes. However, there was variability when examined by screen time type. Passive screen time (e.g., TV) was associated with worse outcomes, educational screen time (e.g., computer for homework) was associated with positive educational outcomes and had no negative relations with other outcomes. Interactive screen time (e.g., video games) had positive associations with educational outcomes but negative associations with other outcomes. In all instances, these significant associations were small or very small, with standardised effects < 0.07. We found little evidence of curvilinear relationships. Conclusions: The small effects of screen time on children’s outcomes appear to be moderated by the type of screen time. Policy makers, educators, and parents should consider the type of screen time when considering the benefits and harms of use.
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It remains unclear whether specific modalities of screen time are differentially associated with adolescent mental health outcomes.
“Furthermore, it remains unclear whether specific modalities of screen time (e.g., device type, digital media type, and specific websites and applications) are differentially associated with adolescent mental health outcomes, prompting a call for researchers to conduct more nuanced measurements and analyses of screen use that focus on the contents, contexts, and environments in which digital media”
From Screen time and mental health: a prospective analysis of the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study (2024) · cites this paper as [88]
An Australian study suggests that the type of screen time matters.
“An Australian study also suggests that the type of screen time matters [23]”
The type of screen time use is more important to consider than screen time itself.
“suggesting, as previous studies [22, 23] point out, that the type of screen time use is more important to consider than screen time itself.”
Using aggregated total screen use measures or broad categories fails to investigate the different types of content that may moderate the effects of screen exposure on children's health, social, and developmental outcomes.
“Such methodology fails to investigate the different types of content that may moderate the effects of screen exposure on children’s health, social, and developmental outcomes [20]”
From Using Wearable Cameras to Categorize the Type and Context of Screen-Based Behaviors Among Adolescents: Observational Study (2022) · cites this paper as [20]
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- Authors
- Sanders, T., Parker, P. D., del Pozo-Cruz, B., Noetel, M., & Lonsdale, C.
- Affiliations
- Australian Catholic University (AU)
- Corresponding author
- Sanders, Taren
- Venue
- International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity
- Published
- 2019-11-29
- Volume
- 16
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 117-117
- ISSN
- 1479-5868 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC6884886
- OpenAlex
- W2989696620
- Cited by
- 164
- References
- 34
- Citations by year
- 2026: 26 · 2025: 27 · 2024: 20 · 2023: 22 · 2022: 27 · 2021: 33 · 2020: 9
- FWCI
- 46.48
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Locations
- International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Research Bank (Australian Catholic University) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
- Funders
- Department of Social Services, Australian Government
- Australian Catholic University
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Education › Child Development and Digital Technology
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology › Physical Activity and Health
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Impact of Technology on Adolescents
- Keywords
- screen time, children, video games, television, health-related quality of life, social-emotional outcomes, academic performance, physical health, moderation, curvilinear relationship, Longitudinal Study of Australian Children
- MeSH terms
- Screen Time, Australia, Child, Child Behavior, Educational Status, Humans, Longitudinal Studies, Quality of Life
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