Dataset Information

Young children's screen time during the first COVID-19 lockdown in 12 countries.

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 was exacerbated 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.

SUBMITTER: Bergmann C

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8821703 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Young children's screen time during the first COVID-19 lockdown in 12 countries.

Bergmann Christina C Dimitrova Nevena N Alaslani Khadeejah K Almohammadi Alaa A Alroqi Haifa H Aussems Suzanne S Barokova Mihaela M Davies Catherine C Gonzalez-Gomez Nayeli N Gibson Shannon P SP Havron Naomi N Horowitz-Kraus Tzipi T Kanero Junko J Kartushina Natalia N Keller Christina C Mayor Julien J Mundry Roger R Shinskey Jeanne J Mani Nivedita N

Scientific reports 20220207 1

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 n ...[more]

PMID: 35132065

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Project description:Screen time for children under 5 is associated with various health risks. Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, screen use among young children increased significantly. Mothers were more likely than fathers to be the primary caregivers and disproportionally assumed the responsibility of monitoring their children's screen time. Several studies have examined children's screen use throughout the pandemic; however, few have addressed mothers' experiences. Therefore, the current study aimed to investigate mothers' perceptions regarding the barriers and facilitators faced when trying to reduce their child's pandemic screen time, as expressed on Reddit (a social media platform for anonymous discussion and information sharing). Two subreddit forums targeted toward mothers, "mommit" and "beyondthebump," with 646,000 and 554,000 users, respectively, were examined. Posts were collected using related search terms and screened for inclusion by three independent researchers. Inductive thematic content analysis was leveraged to identify themes. In total, 582 posts were reviewed from March 14th, 2020, to August 31st, 2022. Qualitative analysis yielded 5 themes; 6 barriers and 2 facilitators were derived from themes and/or subthemes, where applicable. Results suggest that mothers faced barriers when trying to reduce their child's screen time, including their competing work and in-home obligations, using screens to occupy their child during travel, child screen use with other caregivers, offering their child screen time while they needed rest, pandemic changes in routine, and using screens to encourage their child to engage in necessary behaviours. However, facilitating factors, including advice received from other mothers on how to reduce their child's screen time and the sharing of non-screen alternatives supported mothers in lowering their children's screen time. These results are important for future interventions, which may utilize the conclusions of this study to address what mothers perceive to be helping or hindering them, thus empowering mothers to successfully limit their children's screen time.

Project description:ObjectivesLockdown measures have been adopted in many countries around the world to control the spread of COVID-19. These measures induced long confinement period that may have had an unintended negative impact on children's life behaviors and health. This study aimed to investigate the impact of behaviors related to COVID-19 confinement on body weight/BMI changes in children from Constantine, Algeria.MethodsThis was a cross-sectional survey based on children aged 5 to 12 years dwelling in any province of Constantine. Parents of children completed an online-distributed questionnaire at two time points (between April and May and anther time between 11th July and 10th august 2020). The questionnaire assessed sociodemographic information, anthropometric data, physical activity, dietary, eating habits, and other factors related to children's lifestyle before and during lockdown. Paired before and during lockdown comparison for each lifestyle multiple statistic tests were performed to assess associations among before and during lockdown data.Results275 questionnaires were completed (59.7%). Mean self-reported weight and BMI significantly increased by 1.43 kg and 0.84 kg/meter 2, respectively. Among the examined variables, increased unhealthy food consumption, snacks, number of daily meals taken, low physical activity and increased sedentary behaviors were significantly correlated with higher body weight gain (P < 0.005). These behaviors may not only have a significant impact on the development of childhood obesity but also on the deterioration of the mental state of the children surveyed.ConclusionRestrictive measures during the COVID-19 lockdown, and home confinement, school closure makes children more vulnerable to environmental risks. Results from this study highlight the risk associated with a shift in eating habits, increased dietary intake, decreased physical activity, increased sedentary behaviors, and their impact in exacerbating the gain in body weight and BMI.

Project description:BackgroundDuring the COVID-19 lockdown in 2020, adolescents' mental health was largely undermined. A general increment in screen time was reported. However, the long-term effects of the latter on adolescents' mental health are still little explored.MethodsIn the present natural experiment, we investigated these effects using longitudinal data collected before and after the first lockdown in Switzerland. Data come from 674 Swiss adolescents (56.7% females, Mage = 14.45, SDage = 0.50) during Spring 2019 (T1) and Autumn 2020 (T2) as part of the longitudinal MEDIATICINO study. Self-reported mental health measures included somatic symptoms, inattention, anxiety, irritability, anger, sleep problems, obsessive-compulsive symptoms, loneliness, and depression. Measures for screen-media activities included time spent on the Internet, smartphones, social media, video gaming, instant messaging, and television viewing. They were all assessed at T1 and T2.ResultsPaired-sample t-tests with Bonferroni's correction showed that most mental health problems increased over time with an overall medium effect size (Hedge's g = 0.337). In particular, medium effect sizes were found for anxiety, depression, and inattention; small-to-medium effect sizes were reported for loneliness, sleep problems, and obsessive-compulsive symptoms; and a small effect size was found for somatic symptoms. Screen-media activities increased, with the exception of television viewing and video gaming. The results of the hierarchical regression analyses showed that, controlling for covariates, increased time spent on social media - calculated as the difference between T2 and T1 - was the only screen-media activity significantly associated with worse mental health at T2 (β = 0.112, p = 0.016). More time spent in structured media activities like television viewing diminished levels of inattention (β = -0.091, p = 0.021) and anxiety (β = -0.093, p = 0.014). Among covariates, being female, experiencing two or more life events, having mental health problems at T1, and using screens for homeschooling negatively influenced mental health at T2.ConclusionThese results align with literature indicating a small but negative effect of social media time on mental health. Underlying mechanisms are manifold, including increased exposure to COVID-19 news, heightened fear of missing out, social comparison, and time-displaced for activities such as physical activity and green time. However, in line with the structured days hypothesis, getting involved in media-structured activities like television viewing might protect against mental health symptoms.

Dataset Information

Young children's screen time during the first COVID-19 lockdown in 12 countries.

Publications

Young children's screen time during the first COVID-19 lockdown in 12 countries.

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