My colleagues and I identified these groups from data analysis of 10,460 U.S. schoolchildren followed for six years. It is important to understand which children are frequent users of online technologies because this use can displace developmentally appropriate activities, including physical activity, sleep, and independent reading of books.
We found that children in kindergarten who were aggressive or often acted out were more likely to use these online technologies several times a day at the end of elementary school, as were children from low-income families. Black children are also more likely to be frequent users of online technologies.
Boys are more likely to be frequent users of online games, while girls are more likely to use social media and messaging.
Children of parents who emphasized early literacy activities and set boundaries to watch television were less likely to be frequent users of later online technologies.
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Why is it important?
The increasing use of online technologies by children, such as Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and other social networking applications; games via Xbox, PlayStation or smartphones; and messaging via WhatsApp, Snapchat, or texting: you have concerned parents, educators, and health care providers, for good reason.
Frequent use of online technologies can displace developmentally beneficial activities: think about physical activity, sleep, parent-child interactions, and independent book reading. Children who use online technologies many times a day are more likely to be sedentary, sleep deprived, and overweight; struggle academically or behaviorally in school; and informing themselves of worse quality of life and mental health. Children’s use of online technologies has also greatly increased during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Our study provides new information on which U.S. kindergartens are most likely to be frequent users of online technologies. This new information can help inform public health campaigns for at-risk families. Routines that promote optimal levels of online technology use, physical activity, sleep, reading books, and other activities should help children develop physically, cognitively, academically, and behaviorally.
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What is not yet known
Our study has limitations. Our results may be conservative because children were informed of how often they used online technologies. Data collection ended before the Covid-19 pandemic began.
Our results are not causal. We don’t know for sure why specific groups of children are more likely to be frequent users of online technologies. However, we have some hypotheses. Parents of low-income families can afford more screen time as they face a greater demand for their own time and resources. Parents of acting children may resort to electronic devices to pacify their children’s explosions. Early experiences with racial discrimination may lead black children to use online technologies frequently to connect with similar peers and express their racial or ethnic identity.
And it’s important to recognize that there is only limited evidence that children’s use of online technologies causes harm. These damages may be limited to frequent users of specific populations-specific technologies. More study and analysis is needed to examine these relationships. In the future, online technologies could be designed to promote healthy behaviors, including vulnerable populations.
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That follows
Identifying at this early stage which children are most likely to be frequent users of online technologies can then help families prevent problematic use.
For example, other research suggests that girls are likely to be especially affected by frequent social media due to increased exposure to cyberbullying and feelings of dissatisfaction with body weight, as well as decreased sleep and the exercise. Our study finds that girls are more likely to use these technologies a lot at the end of elementary school. It can be particularly important to limit social media and messages during this first period of development.
Establishing screen time routines that help children meet recommended guidelines for physical play, sleep, reading books, and other beneficial developmental activities can help prevent overuse of online technologies. It can also help you limit children’s access during homework, shared meals, and bedtime. Families can set rules that limit access to electronic devices. Parents could encourage early literacy activities to help children become independent readers.
Educators and health care providers can inform parents about the repeatedly observed negative associations between the frequent use of online technologies and children’s development, as well as help and assist families in establishing screen time routines.
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Paul L. Morgan is an Eberly Fellow, Professor of Education and Demography and Director of the Center for Educational Disparities Research at Penn State.