Home environment shapes youth development more than screen time

A long-term study of young people in Scotland found that the home environment has a far greater impact on mental health than the number of hours spent on digital devices, ERR reported. The findings partly challenge the view that extensive screen time inevitably harms children’s psychological development.

The study followed nearly 3,800 children. When a five-year-old spent more than five hours a day watching television, the child had more behavioural difficulties at age 10. However, those problems often eased by the teenage years, suggesting that a difficult starting point does not permanently determine a young person’s social development.

Researchers led by Fiona McQuaid of the University of Edinburgh assessed the children’s emotional and social skills at ages five, 10 and 15. They asked parents and children how much time they spent in front of screens, while also examining the families’ economic circumstances and household rules.

After the researchers accounted for parental warmth and a sense of security at home, the direct link between screen time and behavioural problems almost completely disappeared. The researchers said that family relationships and the content viewed on screens should receive more attention alongside the amount of time spent using devices.

Among 15-year-olds, what they did on screens mattered much more than the number of hours spent there. The researchers separately examined whether teenagers played video games, communicated with friends or passively watched videos.

Playing video games for more than five hours a day was clearly associated with poorer mental health. The findings on social media and messaging applications were markedly different. Teenagers who used communication applications for one to two hours a day had fewer psychological difficulties than peers who avoided social media completely.

The researchers said online platforms can provide important support during adolescence. Staying in contact with friends and acquaintances can help young people remain part of a social community and protect them from isolation.

Pete Etchells, a psychology and communications professor at Bath Spa University who was not involved in the study, told the Science Media Centre that children do not use smart devices in a vacuum. “Home life strongly affects how long a young person looks at a glowing screen, and what they see on the screen also shapes their family relationships,” he said.

One limitation of the study was that the participants reached preschool age before the rapid rise of different smart devices.