Young Children's Screen Time During the First COVID-19 Lockdown in 12 Countries

Christina Bergmann; Nevena Dimitrova; Khadeejah Alaslani; Alaa Almohammadi; Suzanne Aussems; Mihaela Barokova; Catherine Davies; Nayeli Gonzalez-Gomez; Shannon P. Gibson; Naomi Havron; Tzipi Horowitz-Kraus; Junko Kanero; Natalia Kartushina; Christina Keller; Julien Mayor; Roger Mundry; J.L. Shinskey; Nivedita Mani

doi:10.1038/s41598-022-05840-5

Young Children's Screen Time During the First COVID-19 Lockdown in 12 Countries

Christina Bergmann, Nevena Dimitrova, Khadeejah Alaslani, Alaa Almohammadi, Suzanne Aussems, Mihaela Barokova, Catherine Davies, Nayeli Gonzalez-Gomez, Shannon P. Gibson, Naomi Havron, Tzipi Horowitz-Kraus, Junko Kanero, Natalia Kartushina, Christina Keller, Julien Mayor, Roger Mundry, J.L. Shinskey, Nivedita Mani

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

Older children with online schooling requirements, unsurprisingly, were reported to have increased screen time during the first COVID-19 lockdown in many countries. Here, we ask whether younger children with no similar online schooling requirements also had increased screen time during lockdown. We examined children’s screen time during the first COVID-19 lockdown in a large cohort (n=2209) of 8-to-36-month-olds sampled from 15 labs across 12 countries. Caregivers reported that toddlers with no online schooling requirements were exposed to more screen time during lockdown than before lockdown. While this wasexacerbated for countries with longer lockdowns, there was no evidence that the increase in screen time during lockdown was associated with socio-demographic variables, such as child age and socio-economic status (SES). However, screen time during lockdown was negatively associated with SES and positively associated with child age, caregiver screen time and attitudes towards children’s screen time. The results highlight the impact of the COVID-19 lockdown on young children’s screen time.

Original language	English
Article number	2015 (2022)
Journal	Scientific Reports
Volume	12
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-05840-5
Publication status	Published - 7 Feb 2022

Keywords

screen time
COVID-19
multi-country

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Cite this

Bergmann, C., Dimitrova, N., Alaslani, K., Almohammadi, A., Aussems, S., Barokova, M., Davies, C., Gonzalez-Gomez, N., Gibson, S. P., Havron, N., Horowitz-Kraus, T., Kanero, J., Kartushina, N., Keller, C., Mayor, J., Mundry, R., Shinskey, J. L., & Mani, N. (2022). Young Children's Screen Time During the First COVID-19 Lockdown in 12 Countries. Scientific Reports, 12, Article 2015 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-05840-5

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abstract = "Older children with online schooling requirements, unsurprisingly, were reported to have increased screen time during the first COVID-19 lockdown in many countries. Here, we ask whether younger children with no similar online schooling requirements also had increased screen time during lockdown. We examined children{\textquoteright}s screen time during the first COVID-19 lockdown in a large cohort (n=2209) of 8-to-36-month-olds sampled from 15 labs across 12 countries. Caregivers reported that toddlers with no online schooling requirements were exposed to more screen time during lockdown than before lockdown. While this wasexacerbated for countries with longer lockdowns, there was no evidence that the increase in screen time during lockdown was associated with socio-demographic variables, such as child age and socio-economic status (SES). However, screen time during lockdown was negatively associated with SES and positively associated with child age, caregiver screen time and attitudes towards children{\textquoteright}s screen time. The results highlight the impact of the COVID-19 lockdown on young children{\textquoteright}s screen time.",

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author = "Christina Bergmann and Nevena Dimitrova and Khadeejah Alaslani and Alaa Almohammadi and Suzanne Aussems and Mihaela Barokova and Catherine Davies and Nayeli Gonzalez-Gomez and Gibson, {Shannon P.} and Naomi Havron and Tzipi Horowitz-Kraus and Junko Kanero and Natalia Kartushina and Christina Keller and Julien Mayor and Roger Mundry and J.L. Shinskey and Nivedita Mani",

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Bergmann, C, Dimitrova, N, Alaslani, K, Almohammadi, A, Aussems, S, Barokova, M, Davies, C, Gonzalez-Gomez, N, Gibson, SP, Havron, N, Horowitz-Kraus, T, Kanero, J, Kartushina, N, Keller, C, Mayor, J, Mundry, R, Shinskey, JL & Mani, N 2022, 'Young Children's Screen Time During the First COVID-19 Lockdown in 12 Countries', Scientific Reports, vol. 12, 2015 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-05840-5

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AU - Bergmann, Christina

AU - Dimitrova, Nevena

AU - Alaslani, Khadeejah

AU - Almohammadi, Alaa

AU - Aussems, Suzanne

AU - Barokova, Mihaela

AU - Davies, Catherine

AU - Gonzalez-Gomez, Nayeli

AU - Gibson, Shannon P.

AU - Havron, Naomi

AU - Horowitz-Kraus, Tzipi

AU - Kanero, Junko

AU - Kartushina, Natalia

AU - Keller, Christina

AU - Mayor, Julien

AU - Mundry, Roger

AU - Shinskey, J.L.

AU - Mani, Nivedita

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N2 - Older children with online schooling requirements, unsurprisingly, were reported to have increased screen time during the first COVID-19 lockdown in many countries. Here, we ask whether younger children with no similar online schooling requirements also had increased screen time during lockdown. We examined children’s screen time during the first COVID-19 lockdown in a large cohort (n=2209) of 8-to-36-month-olds sampled from 15 labs across 12 countries. Caregivers reported that toddlers with no online schooling requirements were exposed to more screen time during lockdown than before lockdown. While this wasexacerbated for countries with longer lockdowns, there was no evidence that the increase in screen time during lockdown was associated with socio-demographic variables, such as child age and socio-economic status (SES). However, screen time during lockdown was negatively associated with SES and positively associated with child age, caregiver screen time and attitudes towards children’s screen time. The results highlight the impact of the COVID-19 lockdown on young children’s screen time.

AB - Older children with online schooling requirements, unsurprisingly, were reported to have increased screen time during the first COVID-19 lockdown in many countries. Here, we ask whether younger children with no similar online schooling requirements also had increased screen time during lockdown. We examined children’s screen time during the first COVID-19 lockdown in a large cohort (n=2209) of 8-to-36-month-olds sampled from 15 labs across 12 countries. Caregivers reported that toddlers with no online schooling requirements were exposed to more screen time during lockdown than before lockdown. While this wasexacerbated for countries with longer lockdowns, there was no evidence that the increase in screen time during lockdown was associated with socio-demographic variables, such as child age and socio-economic status (SES). However, screen time during lockdown was negatively associated with SES and positively associated with child age, caregiver screen time and attitudes towards children’s screen time. The results highlight the impact of the COVID-19 lockdown on young children’s screen time.

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