TV_highquality By Aaron Escobar CC BY 2_0
TV_highquality By Aaron Escobar CC BY 2_0

Toddlers' screen time has more than doubled since the 90s

Embargoed until: Publicly released:

The amount of time US kids under two spend staring at screens every day has more than doubled between 1997 and 2014, but it is TV and not mobile devices that make up the bulk of the screen time, according to US researchers. The study, which used diary data collected in 1997 and 2014, showed that US kids under two went from watching an average of 1.32 hours of screen time daily in 1997 to 3.05 hours daily by 2014. The researchers say that, despite fears about mobile devices increasing kids' exposure to screens, they found young children under six spent most of their screen time watching TV rather than devices.

Journal/conference: JAMA Pediatrics

Link to research (DOI): 10.1001/jamapediatrics.2018.5546

Organisation/s: Florida International University, USA

Funder: None reported

Media Release

From: JAMA

Has Screen Time Increased for Young Children and on What Screen?

Bottom Line: Children younger than 6 spend most of their screen time watching TV. That’s the finding of a new study that assessed screen time in young children in 1997 and in 2014, before and after mobile devices were widely available. The study used time diary data from a representative group of American children younger than 6 who completed the time diary (1,327 children in 1997 and 443 children in 2014). In 1997, daily screen time averaged 1.3 hours for children up to age 2 and almost 2.5 hours for children 3 to 5, with the highest amount of screen time per day spent watching TV. By 2014, total screen time among children up to age 2 increased to about 3 hours per day and most of that time was spent watching TV; children 3 to 5 didn’t have a significant change in total screen time in 2014 but most of it was spent watching TV. Authors suggest future research look at the association between screen time and parenting style and sibling and peer influence.

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