Does Media Use Predict Children’s Language and Literacy Gains? Media Use in the Home Environment

• In Event: Home Practices and Beyond: Looking at Media, Numeracy, Literacy, and Authentic Practices in Diverse Populations

Abstract

Media use is a pervasive aspect of children’s home experiences but is often not considered in studies of the home environment. Media use could be detrimental to children’s language and literacy skills because it may displace other literacy-enhancing activities like shared reading and decrease the quantity and quality of caregiver-child interaction. Thus, in two studies, we asked whether media use, and characteristics of media use, are associated with children’s language and literacy skills.
In Study 1, children (N = 1583) from preschool through third grade classrooms completed assessments of language and literacy skills in the fall and spring of the school year. Parents reported how much time their child spends using media on a typical school day. Regression analyses showed that using 4 hours or more of media was related to lower literacy gains across the year, but not to language gains. Multilevel models conducted as a robustness check showed that this effect did not hold when accounting for classroom. Single-time-point models did show some associations that did not manifest in the more stringent models of gains across the school year, highlighting the limitations of correlational designs that do not have measures of children’s skills over time.
Notably, however, more sensitive measures of children’s media use may capture important variability that is not captured in less nuanced measures. Furthermore, media use may have a negative effect on language and literacy growth only to the extent that it inhibits caregiver-child interaction and caregiver language input. Thus, the presence of joint media engagement in which parents and children use media together may moderate the association between children’s media use and language and literacy skills.
Thus, in Study 2, parents reported how many hours children (N = 488) used both interactive and noninteractive media during different times of the day on the most recent weekday and weekend day, and responded to items about the extent to which they engage with their children during media use. Children completed direct assessments of language and literacy skills in the spring of kindergarten and the spring of first grade. A quadratic relationship between media use and language gains showed that a moderate amount of media use was related to larger language gains, whereas high use was related to smaller gains (see Figure 1.1). For literacy, an interaction between media use and joint media engagement showed a small negative effect of media use at low levels of joint media engagement and little to no relation between media use and literacy gains at higher levels of joint media engagement (see Figure 1.2).
Given the concern and popular press coverage around children’s media use, it is important to acknowledge nonsignificant and nuanced effects in this domain. These results show that moderate amounts of media use may not be a negative influence on children’s developing language skills whereas high levels may displace other language-enhancing activities. Additionally, joint media engagement may play an important buffering role in the relation between media use and early literacy skills, aligned with current recommendations encouraging co-viewing.

Authors

• Rebecca Dore, Ohio State University
  Presenting Author

• Jessica Logan, Ohio State University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Tzu-Jung Lin, Ohio State University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Kelly M Purtell, Ohio State University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Laura M. Justice, Ohio State University
  Non-Presenting Author