Screen Time Use Among US Adolescents During the COVID-19 Pandemic

November 1, 2021

Jason M. Nagata, Catherine A. Cortez, et al.

JAMA Pediatrics

This cross-sectional study explores if there has been an increase in screen time among adolescents in the US as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. The sample included 5412 adolescents typically aged 12 and 13 years and they self-reported the data. Screen use included texting, single-player gaming, social media, video chatting, browsing the internet, and watching or streaming movies, videos, or television shows. The results showed that adolescents reported a mean screen use of 7.70 hours per day, most of them spent on streaming videos, movies, or television shows (2.42 hours per day), multiple-player gaming (1.44 hours per day), and single-player gaming (1.17 hours per day). These numbers were higher than the average screen use during pre-pandemic estimates (3.8 hours per day). Even though some screen use could have been a way to deal with stress, higher coping behaviors and social support among the sample were associated with those with lower screen usage.

Nagata JM, Cortez CA, Cattle CJ, et al. Screen Time Use among US adolescents during the COVID-19 pandemic. JAMA Pediatrics 2021.

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