Screen time trapping kids in ‘vicious cycle’ of bad behaviour: study
Kids are facing a “vicious cycle” when it comes to screen time, new research has found, and it may explain both why children who are glued to their devices act out and why they turn to the same devices when they’re struggling with social or emotional challenges.
The study, published in the academic journal Psychological Bulletin on Monday, followed nearly 300,000 kids worldwide and found that children who spend more time on devices like computers, tablets, smartphones, TVs and gaming consoles are at higher risk of developing problems like anxiety, low self-confidence and aggression later in life.
The study also found that the link works the other way: Kids who are already struggling socially or emotionally are turning to screens as a coping mechanism.
“Children are spending more and more time on screens, for everything from entertainment to homework to messaging friends,” Dr. Michael Noetel, PhD, an associate professor in the School of Psychology at Queensland University and one of the authors of the study, said in a press release from the American Psychological Association (APA).
“We found that increased screen time can lead to emotional and behavioral problems, and kids with those problems often turn to screens to cope.”
Noetel and his colleagues conducted a meta-analysis of more than 100 studies already published on the effects of screen time on kids, examining past research with participants under the age of 10 who were followed for at least six months. Each study analyzed screen use and socio-emotional problems, and the researchers looked at all types of screen-based activities, including watching TV, interacting with social media, gaming and online schoolwork.
Almost half of the studies were conducted in the United States, but they also examined data from Canada, Australia, Germany, the Netherlands and other countries.
What sets this study apart from others, said Kara Brisson-Boivin, the director of research at MediaSmarts, a Canadian digital and media literacy organization, is that the research team examined the issue in a novel way, identifying behavioural issues first and then considering the amount of screen time children were exposed to.
“(They) didn’t necessarily jump from the idea that screen time equals poor emotional regulation or emotional dysregulation. They started by identifying emotional dysregulation and then looked to screen time, and I think that’s an important framing and one that is the kind of dimension that’s missing from the landscape more broadly,” she told Global News.
While there is a lot of societal anxiety around kids’ use of social media, the study found that time spent on gaming consoles was particularly linked to a greater chance of developing issues.
“Rather than breaking it down by the exact game people were playing, it’s safe to make some assumptions,” Noetel told ABC News. “The most games that were included were console games, computer games and mobile games.”
Interestingly, it wasn’t necessarily violent video games that appeared to cause problems.
Roberta Pires Vasconcellos, an associate lecturer at the University of New South Wales and the study’s lead author, told CNN that while lots of time playing video games can certainly cause problems, “sometimes, it’s a symptom.”
“In many cases, children who are already struggling emotionally turn to screens, especially video games, as a way to cope or escape,” he said, adding, “while that might offer short-term relief, over time it can trap them in a cycle that reinforces those emotional difficulties.”
The collective findings indicated difficulties emerged when children under two had any screen time (excluding video chats), when children aged two to five exceeded one hour of screen time daily and when older kids surpassed the recommended maximum of two hours daily.
Kids who spent a lot of time on games were particularly at risk. Those between the ages of six and 10 were more likely to develop socio-emotional problems compared to children aged five or younger.
Boys, the study found, were more likely to turn to video games to cope, while girls were generally more at risk of developing emotional problems with greater screen time use.
Brisson-Boivin warned against generalizations when it comes to screen time and gender, however.
“Rather than point a finger at screen use amongst boys and girls, I would look at the different circumstances between boys and girls and gender-diverse children at a young age. Boys and girls develop very differently.”
Noetel also cautions that their findings omit other factors, like parenting styles, that can play a role in both how children develop emotionally and how much screen use kids are allowed.
Brisson-Boivin says parents, regardless of parenting style, should try to be mindful of when their kids, regardless of gender, are turning to screens to cope emotionally and “not just turning over the device immediately to help them regulate.”
“Especially for younger children, we want to make sure they’re developing healthy self-soothing, socio-emotional regulation practices.”
The current recommendationsDr. Tara Narula, discussing the study with ABC News, highlighted that the latest research looked at children who are engaging with screen time beyond the current guidelines. According to the Canadian Paediatric Society (CPS), children under two should not be exposed to screens, and those aged two to five should not have more than one hour of high-quality screen time a day.
Teens, tweens and older children are encouraged to limit screens to two hours per day and turn them off up to an hour before bedtime, CPS advises.
The study says, “There appear to be few differences between outcomes for children watching 10 and 30 min per day. For children exceeding the guidelines, there was a substantial association between their screen use and socio-emotional problems.”
Narula also shared a call to action for parents: “One of the biggest things is you have to be invested, involved and aware of what’s going on with your kids. You have to be there for them emotionally, check in on them, and also teach them those social life skills. You want to monitor not just the amount but the quality of what they’re using it for.”
‘Pilots of their own experience’Brisson-Boivin, a mother of two under 10, acknowledges that enforcing screen time rules can be a minefield for parents and caregivers, especially when adults need to get something done or when kids nag and fight for screens.
Also, like Narula, Brisson-Boivin stresses the importance of getting involved in a child’s literacy around screen time — conversations explaining how algorithms are designed to keep users scrolling or playing, how to set healthy boundaries with social media, using screens as an educational or co-viewing experience between adult and child (like watching a movie together or using the internet to research a topic) and working with the child to come up with rules around their screen time use.
“Children, especially older children, are incredibly smart and if we give them the tools to be the pilots of their own experience, it helps build trust. They’re more likely to follow the rules if they’re part of making that rule.”
Parents can also model healthy screen time use for their kids, she told Global News, by being mindful of their own use of screens and showing them how they’re setting boundaries and goals around time spent looking at a phone, TV or computer.
If your child is throwing a tantrum or fighting back when they’re asked to take a break or turn off a screen, it’s an issue, says Brisson-Boivin.
Also, when kids lose interest in other activities and increasingly turn to screens, it might indicate they’re becoming too attached to these technologies.
“If they were on a soccer team or they were in the drama club and you notice that they’re no longer doing those things, are no longer interested in that, it’s a red flag,” she said.
If kids are losing or having disrupted sleep, screens might be the culprit, said Brisson-Boivin, and she strongly recommends that devices be removed from the bedroom at bedtime.
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