Contextualizing trends in television viewing and computer use among school-aged children in the United States, 1999–2018

• In Event: Children and Youth Section Roundtables
  In Refereed Roundtable (60 minute): Table 1: Digital Sexualities, Media, and Identity Construction

Abstract

Excessive screen time among children is linked to adverse physical, mental, and developmental outcomes. The putative drivers of increasing screen time among school-aged children in the United States remain unclear. Population-level changes may arise from intracohort change (IC)—increase in screen time as children age—or cohort replacement (CR), whereby later-born cohorts have higher screen time than earlier cohorts. We analyzed data from 10,335 children aged 5–15 years old in the 1999–2018 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). Screen time was measured as daily hours of television viewing plus computer use. Using linear and algebraic decomposition techniques, we partitioned total change (TC) in screen time into IC and CR components. Models adjusted for demographic, wellness, family, and food security factors. Average daily screen time rose from 2.42 hours in 1999 to 4.26 hours in 2018—a 76% increase. Boys consistently reported higher screen time than girls. Both IC and CR contributed to rising use: screen time increased as cohorts aged (IC) and later-born cohorts reported higher levels than earlier-born cohorts (CR). In unadjusted models, IC accounted for most of the increase, while CR partially offset the effect. After adjusting for sociodemographic, wellness, and family factors, CR emerged as an additional driver of population-level increases in screen time. TV viewing plus computer use among children in the United States has risen significantly over two decades, with both within-cohort aging and generational shifts contributing to the increase. Using a different methodological approach, we are the first to show that more recent cohorts, shaped by changing demographics and family environments, have higher screen time.

Authors

• Ashley Wendell Kranjac, Chapman University

• Dinko Kranjac, University of La Verne