U.S. Adolescents' Daily Screen Time Doubled During Pandemic

By Steven Reinberg
HealthDay Reporter

TUESDAY, Nov. 2, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- As teens dramatically stepped up their surface clip during COVID-19 lockdowns, their well-being took a hit, a caller survey reveals.

Recreational surface clip among U.S. teens doubled from earlier the pandemic to astir 8 hours per time during the pandemic, according to the report. And this estimation doesn't see clip spent connected screens for distant learning oregon schoolwork, truthful the full was apt overmuch higher, the researchers said.

"More surface clip was linked to poorer mental health and greater stress among teens," said pb researcher Dr. Jason Nagata, an adjunct prof of pediatrics astatine the University of California, San Francisco.

"Although societal media and video chat tin beryllium utilized to foster societal connection, we recovered that teens reporting higher surface usage felt little societal enactment during the pandemic," Nagata added.

The findings stem from a survey of much than 5,000 U.S. adolescents, mostly 12- and 13-year-olds.

Nagata's squad looked astatine clip teens spent playing games, texting, utilizing societal media, video chatting, browsing the internet, and watching oregon streaming movies, videos oregon tv shows.

While surface clip accrued for each respondents, Black teens, Hispanic teens and those from lower-income households spent much clip connected screens than others, the survey showed. Nagata said that whitethorn beryllium to factors specified arsenic deficiency of wealth for different kinds of enactment oregon deficiency of entree to safe, outdoor spaces.

Regardless of the reasons for the rise, parents should stay watchful, Nagata said.

"Although surface clip tin person important benefits for acquisition during the pandemic, parents should effort to mitigate adverse intelligence wellness risks from excessive surface time," helium said.

Nagata suggested parents speech to their teens often astir surface clip and make a household media plan. This could see mounting limits, encouraging screen-free clip and avoiding screens earlier bedtime.

"Parents should enactment arsenic relation models for their children with their ain surface clip practices," Nagata said.

Still, helium isn't hopeful that surface clip volition wane arsenic the pandemic does.

"As the pandemic subsides, teens volition beryllium capable to modulation immoderate of their schoolhouse and societal activities from screens to successful person," Nagata said. "However, due to the fact that of the accrued availability of virtual oregon hybrid options, surface usage is apt to stay higher than pre-pandemic levels."

Continued

Dr. Pamela Hurst-Della Pietra is laminitis and president of Children and Screens successful Jericho, N.Y., which studies however integer media impact young people.

She reviewed the findings and called the summation of astir 4 hours a time of non-school-related surface clip striking.

"Their findings besides enactment earlier pre-pandemic studies revealing surface clip disparities wrong the pediatric colonisation demographically, the astir concerning being that Black and Hispanic children had astir 30% much surface clip than their achromatic counterparts," Pietra said.

More surface clip was tied to poorer intelligence wellness and greater perceived stress, portion much societal enactment and coping behaviors were associated with little wide surface use, she noted.

Though the survey has limitations — including that teens self-reported their surface time, and their societal enactment earlier the pandemic wasn't wide — the findings shed airy connected what whitethorn beryllium a increasing and unhealthy trend, Pietra said.

"Investigations into differential surface usage and intelligence wellness factors, specified arsenic Nagata's study, are incredibly important and necessary," she noted.

Another adept said she's funny successful seeing however these findings comparison with different studies successful the works.

"That surface usage wide successful this illustration has accrued truthful overmuch suggests that we should spot however robust this uncovering is among immoderate of the different studies being conducted during this time," said Ellen Wartella, a prof of communications astatine Northwestern University successful Evanston, Ill.

The findings were published online Nov. 1 arsenic a probe missive successful JAMA Pediatrics.

More information

Learn much astir children and surface clip astatine the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.

SOURCES: Jason Nagata, MD, adjunct professor, pediatrics, University of California, San Francisco; Pamela Hurst-Della Pietra, DO, laminitis and president, Children and Screens, Jericho, N.Y.; Ellen Wartella, MA, PhD, professor, communications, Northwestern University, Evanston, Ill.; JAMA Pediatrics, Nov. 1, 2021, online