Effects of Screen Time on Children

Introduction

What do we know about the effects of screen time use of smartphones, tablets and game consoles, among children ages 10 to 15 and academic achievement? This literature review intends to answer that question.

Screen time may affect children in different ways for a variety of reasons. The content of screen time can vary widely, from educational programs to violent video games to social media platforms (Twenge et al., 2018). Different types of content may have different effects on children's cognitive, emotional, and social development (Brown & Bobkowski, 2011). Also, children's developmental needs and abilities change as they grow and mature, which may affect how they respond to screen time (Radesky et al., 2014). For example, young children may benefit from educational programs that reinforce basic skills like letter recognition, while older children may benefit from more complex content that challenges their critical thinking skills (Kostyrka-Allchorne et al., 2017). Moreover, the amount of time children spend on screens can also affect their development. Excessive screen time may interfere with other important activities, such as physical activity, social interaction, and sleep, which can have negative consequences for children's health and well-being (Li et al., 2020). Plus, the context in which screen time occurs may also influence its effects. For example, watching a movie with parents may provide an opportunity for shared learning and bonding, while using screens to distract children during meals or bedtime may interfere with family routines and social interaction (Pea et al., 2012). Finally, individual differences in children's personalities, interests, and learning styles may also affect how they respond to screen time. Some children may be more sensitive to screen content or find it more engaging, while others may be more resistant or prefer other types of activities (Duch et al., 2013). Thus, for all these reasons, it is important to understand how the effects of screen time can impact children, particularly with respect to academic achievement, as school is the place where children are set to establish foundations for their future.

Literature Review

Screen time use of smartphones, tablets and game consoles is increasingly prevalent among children aged 10 to 15. As a result, there has been growing concern among parents, educators and researchers about the potential effects of screen time on children's academic achievement. This literature review aims to provide an overview of the current research on the effects of screen time use on academic achievement among children aged 10 to 15.

Inclusion/Exclusion Criteria

Typical criteria and methods for conducting a literature review include:

Inclusion criteria that are:

Relevant to the research question/topic

Published within a certain time period

Published in a specific language

Empirical research (e.g., not opinion articles, editorials)

Exclusion criteria that are:

Irrelevant to the research question/topic

Published outside of the time period or language specified

Not empirical research

Methods such as:

Conducting a comprehensive search of relevant databases and sources (e.g., PsycINFO, Google Scholar)

Screening titles and abstracts of identified articles based on inclusion/exclusion criteria

Reading full texts of potentially relevant articles to determine inclusion or exclusion

Extracting relevant data and information from included articles

Synthesizing findings and drawing conclusions

To be included in this review, studies had to meet the following criteria:

1. Published in peer-reviewed journals in the last 10 years (2011-2021).

2. Conducted on children (preferably aged 10 to 15, but studies that focused on younger children were also included due to lack of relevant material on the target age group).

3. Investigated the effects of screen time use of smartphones, tablets, game consoles, or any type of media involving the use of screen on attention, cognition, self-regulation, or academic achievement.

4. Included either qualitative or quantitative data obtained in relation to this issue.

Because few studies have actually evaluated the effects of screen time on academic performance some leeway had to be made to meet the demand for ten studies for this review. Therefore, studies from different countries were included and studies of children outside the preferred target group were also included, even if they focused on issues such as self-regulation, since self-regulation does pertain to academic development.

Methods

A systematic search of the databases of Google Scholar and PsycINFO was conducted using the keywords "screen time," "smartphones," "tablets," "game consoles," "children," "academic achievement," and "cognitive development." The search was limited to studies published in English and conducted on human participants. After screening titles and abstracts, full-text articles were obtained for further assessment. Finally, 10 studies were identified that met the inclusion criteria.

Review of the Studies

The study by Radesky et al. (2014) aimed to examine the association between parent-reported self-regulation problems in early childhood and media exposure at age 2, including television and video viewing. They used data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Birth Cohort, which included 7,450 children. The study found that children with poor self-regulation at 9 months, as measured by the Infant Toddler Symptom Checklist, consumed an average of 0.23 hours more media per day at age 2 than children with better slf-regulation. Children with persistent self-regulation problems were even more likely to consume media, with an adjusted beta of 0.21 hours per day. The study suggests that understanding the relationship between self-regulation and media exposure could help parents reduce their children's screen time. In other words, children exposed to more screen time tended to have greater problems with self-regulation than did children with less screen time. The finding suggests that screen time might negatively impact a childs ability to self-regulate emotions. One possible explanation for this could be the effect of screen time on the bodys dopamine regulation, as engaging with media and screens at any age involves a dopamine response, which is inherently similar to the kind of response associated with taking drugs.

The study by Kostyrka-Allchorne et al. (2017) is a systematic review of literature on the association between television viewing and children's executive function, academic performance, attention, language, and play. They reviewed 76 studies and found that the relationship between television viewing and children's development is complex and likely depends on individual characteristics, family and social context, as well as the features of the television content and type of exposure. In other words, media exposure and screen time is just one of many factors that go into shaping children and how they think and behave. They found that watching high-quality educational content during preschool years improves basic academic skills and predicts subsequent positive academic performance, while television viewing in infancy is disruptive to play and associated with inattentive/hyperactive behaviors, lower executive functions, and language delay, at least in the short-term. The researchers admit that it remains unclear whether these interactions between television and cognition are long-lasting. Thus, they conclude by suggesting that future research should focus on investigating the pathways that link particular components of television and type of exposure with individual and contextual factors to better understand their potential unique and combined effects on development, and address the challenge of investigating the diverse and rapidly changing technologies to which the current generation of children are exposed.

The study by Li et al. (2020) investigated the relationship between mobile phone addiction and sleep quality in Chinese adolescents, and examined the mediating role of rumination and moderating role of mindfulness. The study found that rumination partially mediated the relationship between mobile phone addiction and poor sleep quality. Additionally, mindfulness moderated the effect of mobile phone addiction on sleep quality and the mediating effect of rumination, with both effects being stronger for individuals with lower mindfulness. This study provides insight into the mechanisms underlying the relationship between mobile phone addiction and poor sleep quality, and highlights the importance of mindfulness as a protective factor.

The study by Brown & Bobkowski (2011) reviews research on the use and effects of older and newer media on adolescents' health and well-being. The study provides an examination of patterns of media use among adolescents and discusses predictors and effects of those patterns on adolescents' mental health. It also reviews research on the effects of exposure to specific kinds of media content on adolescents' behaviors and health outcomes. Additionally, the study considers media literacy as a promising strategy for enhancing adolescents' use of the media in the future. The researchers also note that reducing the amount of time children spend watching television can reduce aggression, as shown by a field experiment. Interestingly, the study mentions that a meta-analysis of more than 200 studies investigating the effect of television violence on aggressive and antisocial behavior found a moderate correlation between the two as well as between screen time and academic performance. This review suggests that screen time needs to be regulated as it does impact children and their ability to focus, grow, and develop themselves on a number of fronts, including the academic front.

The study by Aguilar et al. (2015) aimed to investigate the association between physical fitness and academic attainment in schoolchildren and the potential influence of screen time on this relationship. The study included 395 schoolchildren from seven schools in Chile, with an average age of 12.1 years. Results showed that good cardiorespiratory fitness levels were positively associated with higher language and mean academic attainment grades in both genders. However, after adjusting for screen time and other potential confounders, these associations disappeared. Additionally, no relationship was observed for children who spent more than 2 hours per day on screen time. The study suggests that policymakers and parents should minimize the negative effects of screen time on children's lives to maximize the beneficial effect of healthy habits on academic attainment.

The study by Faught et...

…hand, is a systematic review of literature on the association between television viewing and children's executive function, academic performance, attention, language, and play. The review considers a wide range of studies, but does not focus specifically on a particular population or age range. The study finds that the relationship between screen time and academic performance is complex and depends on a range of individual and contextual factors, but suggests that high-quality educational content during preschool years can improve academic skills.

The study by Li et al. (2020) examines the relationship between mobile phone addiction and sleep quality in Chinese adolescents and does not focus specifically on academic performance. It suggests that rumination partially mediates the relationship between mobile phone addiction and poor sleep quality and that mindfulness may be a protective factor. But the study by Brown & Bobkowski (2011) is a review of research on the use and effects of older and newer media on adolescents' health and wel-being. The review considers a range of studies on different populations and age ranges, but does not focus specifically on academic performance. The study suggests that screen time can impact children's ability to focus and develop themselves in a number of areas, including academics.

The study by Aguilar et al. (2015) examines the association between physical fitness, screen time, and academic attainment in Chilean schoolchildren aged 12. The researchers find that good cardiorespiratory fitness levels are positively associated with higher language and academic attainment grades in both genders, but that these associations disappear after adjusting for screen time and other potential confounders. This contrasts with the study by Faught et al. (2017), which examines the associations between lifestyle behaviors, including screen time, and academic achievement in grade 5 students in Canada. The study finds that meeting dietary recommendations, screen time, and sleep was associated with meeting academic expectations for different subjects, and that meeting additional lifestyle behavior recommendations was associated with a higher likelihood of meeting academic expectations.

Overall, the studies examined in this analysis provide mixed findings on the relationship between screen time and academic performance. A few studies suggest a negative correlation between screen time and academic performance, with increased screen time leading to lower grades and lower academic achievement (Faught et al., 2017; Twenge et al., 2018). However, other studies found little to no significant association between screen time and academic performance, most likely because they did not explicitly focus on this association.

One possible explanation for the mixed findings could be differences in the populations studied and the methodology and research design implemented. For example, Duch et al. (20130 focused on a systematic review of existing literature, while Aguilar et al. (2015) obtained new empirical data using a population of school children in Chile. The approach, focus, and design contributed to different sets of findings, each shedding light on important aspects of the reseach topic. Additionally, the age range of participants varied across studies, with some focusing specifically on young children (e.g., Duch et al., 2013) while others focused on adolescents (e.g., Faught et al., 2018).

Another potential factor to consider is whether academic performance was specifically examined in connection with screen time. For example, Faught et al. (2017) found that increased screen time was associated with lower grades and lower academic achievement, whereas few other studies actually took a direct focus on seeing whether there is significant association between screen time and academic performance when controlling for other factors such as socioeconomic status. Some studies did examine other factors, however, which suggests that while screen time may be a factor in academic performance, other variables such as socioeconomic status may also play a role.

Conclusion: Implications

In conclusion, while the studies reviewed provide mixed findings on the relationship between screen time and academic performance, it is clear that further research is needed to better understand this complex issue. Additionally, it is important to consider differences in the populations studied and the specific variables examined when interpreting these findings. The findings of this literature review have important implications for parents, educators, and policymakers. Firstly, they suggest that excessive screen time use of smartphones, tablets, and game consoles may be detrimental to children's academic achievement, but more specific and focused research on the target population is needed. Nonetheless, it is evident that too much screen time can impact mental health and development of children of all ages. Therefore, it is likely important for parents to set limits on screen time use and encourage alternative activities that promote cognitive and social-emotional development. The findings do suggest that further research is needed to understand the complex relationships between screen time use and academic achievement, and to identify the factors that may moderate these relationships. Such research may inform the development of evidence-based guidelines and interventions…