Orange County, CA - April 12th, 2019 - A new study that analyzed data from roughly 17,000 teenagers, shows little evidence of a connection in children with time in front of a screen, and especially at night time, and their well-being.
"Implementing best practice statistical and methodological techniques we found little evidence for substantial negative associations between digital-screen engagement and adolescent well-being," said Amy Orben, a Researcher at the Oxford Internet Institute (OII) and College Lecturer at the Queen's College, University of Oxford."While psychological science can be a powerful tool for understanding the link between screen use and adolescent well-being, it still routinely fails to supply stakeholders and the public with high-quality, transparent, and objective investigations into growing concerns about digital technologies. Analyzing three different datasets, which include improved measurements of screen time, we found little clear-cut evidence that screen time decreases adolescent well-being, even if the use of digital technology occurs directly before bedtime," said Professor Andrew Przybylski, Director of Research at the OII and coauthor on the study.
The study showed that the total time children spend in front of a screen per day, has little impact on their mental health. Results also showed that screen use of 30 minutes, 1 hour, or 2 hours before bed does not indicate an apparent connection with a child’s welfare in spite of public debates and media reports.
Researchers gathered data from the United States, the United Kingdom, and Ireland to back their claims. The information covered 709 subjects of a range of ages who are compiled by the United States Panel Study of Income Dynamics for the US, the UK included responses from 11,884 children and their caregivers surveyed as part of the Millennium Cohort Study, and Ireland covered 5,363 children tracked under the Growing Up in Ireland project.
It’s important to note that the study used a rigorous methodology to find out how much time children spend in front of screens per day, which included time-use diaries and self-reported measures. Previous work showed that only 33 percent of participants gave accurate accounts of how much time they spend online; even when asked after the fact.
"To retain influence and trust, robust and transparent research practices will need to become the norm -- not the exception. We hope our approach will set a new baseline for new research on the psychological study of technology," said Przybylski."Because technologies are embedded in our social and professional lives, research concerning digital-screen use and its effects on adolescent well-being is under increasing scrutiny," added Orben.
The finding came from previous work done by Orben and Przybylski. It took innovative and transparent statistical advances to show that technology use has no consequence to a child’s well-being.
