The findings come as Professor Przybylski delivers the Oxford Internet Institute’s latest London lecture this evening (Tuesday 22 October) at The British Academy.
Based on data from over 35,000 American children and their caregivers, the study suggests children spending between one to two hours a day engaged in television-based or digital device activities are more likely to demonstrate higher levels of ‘psychosocial’ functioning than non-users. Put simply, this means they are likely to have better levels of social and emotional well-being than non-users.
Professor Andrew Przybylski, Director of Research at the Oxford Internet Institute, University of Oxford, and lead-author of the study, said:
“Digital devices are now an inescapable feature of everyday life. Ease of use and reduced cost allow growing numbers of young people to access digital devices, games and online platforms.
“In the absence of compelling evidence linking digital screen engagement to mental and physical wellbeing, professional guidance given to caregivers and educators has been predominately shaped by a sense of precaution that prioritizes limits on digital engagement.
“Our research set out to address this gap. Very few children, if any, routinely use television and device-based screens enough, on average, to show significantly lower levels of psychological functioning. Instead these findings indicate that other aspects of digital engagement, including what is on screens and how caregivers moderate their use, are far more important.”
The study tested hypotheses relating to the association between digital screen time and psychosocial functioning in children and teenagers. It also explored how much time children spent engaged in screen-based activities before caregivers could detect psychosocial functioning problems. Caregivers completed questionnaires about the child’s screen time usage, providing details of how long they spent with their devices on a daily basis.
Key findings include:
Dr Netta Weinstein, Senior Lecturer, School of Psychology, University of Cardiff and co-author of the report said, “As digital devices are playing an increasingly large role in childhood and adolescence, further research probing the relations between screen-based technologies and children’s wellbeing is critically needed.”
Dr Amy Orben, College Research Fellow, University of Cambridge noted: “We urge others to build on our findings which show the possible influence of digital screen engagement is likely to be smaller and more nuanced that many might first expect.”
Przybylski agrees and comments: “In light of our findings, calls for blanket technology bans and age restrictions on technology access do not constitute evidence-based or indeed ethical advice, particularly as screen usage in some cases has a net positive impact. Those drafting guidance for caregivers, educators and health professionals should be informed by our latest findings and consider the implications in light the of the broader influences on modern childhood”.
For more information, contact press@oii.ox.ac.uk.
The study draws on a nationally representative sample of 35,000 primary caregivers from the National Survey of Children’s Health (NSCH) published by the US Census Bureau between June 2016 and February 2017.
The full study, ‘How Much Is Too Much? Examining the Relationship Between Digital Screen Engagement and Psychosocial Functioning in a Confirmatory Cohort Study”, by Andrew Przybylski, Amy Orben (Cambridge) and Netta Weinstein (Cardiff) is now in press in the Journal of the American Academic Child & Adolescent Psychiatry and is available as an Open Access article.
Previous research carried out by Professor Przybylski and his team has extensively studied the impact of social media, smartphones, and on mental health, these Open Access publications include:
Przybylski, A. K., & Weinstein, N. (2017). A Large-Scale Test of the Goldilocks Hypothesis: Quantifying the Relations Between Digital-Screen Use and the Mental Well-Being of Adolescents. Psychological Science, 28(2), 204–215. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797616678438
Orben, A., Dienlin, T., & Przybylski, A. K. (2019). Social media’s enduring effect on adolescent life satisfaction. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 116(21), 10226–10228. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1902058116
Orben, A., & Przybylski, A. K. (2019). Screens, Teens, and Psychological Well-Being: Evidence From Three Time-Use-Diary Studies. Psychological Science, 095679761983032. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797619830329
Professor of Human Behaviour and Technology
Professor Przybylski is a psychologist who studies how online social media and video games platforms influence users’ mental health. His research focuses on how data from these platforms can inform regulation, policymaking, and expert advice.
Research Associate
Netta Weinstein is a professor of clinical and social psychology at the University of Reading. She studies human motivation, behaviour and well-being in collaboration with Professors Wachter and Mittelstadt.
Emmanuel College, University of Cambridge
This programme addresses the assumptions that the overall mental well-being of young people is undergoing a pronounced period of decline and that digital technologies might be driving this trend.