External Studies

Early-Childhood Tablet Use and Outbursts of Anger

Written by Caroline Fitzpatrick, PhD; Pedro Mario Pan, PhD; Annie Lemieux, MSc; et al | Published August 12, 2024

In this study, child tablet use at age 3.5 years was associated with more expressions of anger and frustration by the age of 4.5 years. Child proneness to anger/frustration at age 4.5 years was then associated with more use of tablets by age 5.5 years.

Read the study

Problematic smartphone use: What can teenagers and parents do to reduce use?

Written by Nicola J. Kalk. Johnny Downs, Bruce Clark, Ben Carter | Published July 31, 2024

The strategies rated the most effective were: ‘Do not disturb’ (73.5%, n = 328/446); turning off the notifications (65.7%, n = 320/487); and leaving the smartphone in another room at bedtime (58.8%, n = 130/221). The least effective were those that restricted access to specific Apps (38.6%, n = 97/251); using a locked box during revision (36.0%, n = 27/75); and turning on greyscale (32.0%, n = 32/100). Participants also rated parents taking the Smartphone away at night (37.5%, n = 62/165) as least effective, which may reflect that this was imposed rather than a shared plan. We have previously surveyed a large study of 18- to 24-year-olds and found the same strategies were effective.

Read the report

Bedtime Screen Use Behaviors and Sleep Outcomes in Early Adolescents: A Prospective Cohort Study

Written by Jason M. Nagata, M.D., M.Sc.; Chloe M. Cheng, M.D.; Joan Shim, M.P.H.; Orsolya Kiss, Ph.D.; et al. | Published July 22, 2024

Having a television or Internet-connected electronic device in the bedroom was prospectively associated with shorter sleep duration one year later. Talking/texting on the phone, listening to music, and using social media were all prospectively associated with shorter sleep duration, greater overall sleep disturbance, and a higher factor score for disorders of initiating and maintaining sleep one year later.

Read the study

Screen Media Use and Mental Health of Children and Adolescents

Written by Jesper Schmidt-Persson, PhD; Martin Gillies Banke Rasmussen, PhD; Sarah Overgaard Sørensen, MSc; et al | Published July 12, 2024

In this prespecified secondary analysis of a randomized clinical trial including 89 families (181 children and adolescents), reducing screen media use had an overall positive effect on children’s and adolescents’ behavioral difficulties. The most noticeable benefits associated with reduced screen media use was a decrease in internalizing behavioral issues and enhanced positive social interactions.

Read the report

Associations between media parenting practices and early adolescent screen use

Written by Jason M. Nagata, Angel Paul, Felicia Yen, Zacariah Smith-Russack, Iris Yuefan Shao, et al. | Published June 5, 2024

Parent screen use, family mealtime screen use, and bedroom screen use were associated with greater adolescent screen time and problematic social media, video game, and mobile phone use. Parental use of screens to control behavior (e.g., as a reward or punishment) was associated with higher screen time and greater problematic video game use. Parental monitoring of screens was associated with lower screen time and less problematic social media and mobile phone use. Parental limit setting of screens was associated with lower screen time and less problematic social media, video game, and mobile phone use.

Read the study

Why is sex in movies declining?

Written by Stephen Follows | Published May 2, 2024

We looked at the top 250 grossing films of each since 2000, tracking the level of sexual content via signals from film rating bodies and film databases. Comparing each year to the baseline of 2000, we can see a steady decline in the amount of sex in feature films. By 2023, it had fallen by almost 40% from the start of the century.

Read the Study

How Teens and Parents Approach Screen Time

Written by Monica Anderson, Michelle Faverio and Eugenie Park | Published March 12, 2024

Most teens at least sometimes feel happy and peaceful when they don’t have their phone, but 44% say this makes them anxious. Half of parents say they have looked through their teen’s phone.

Download the Survey

Screen Time and Parent-Child Talk When Children Are Aged 12 to 36 Months

Written by Mary E. Brushe, PhD, Dandara G. Haag, PhD, Edward C. Melhuish, PhD, et al | Published March 4, 2024

Findings of this study support the notion of technoference for Australian families, whereby young children’s exposure to screen time is interfering with opportunities to talk and interact in their home environment. This finding has implications for interventions and supports aimed at promoting a language-rich home environment, with families needing support in understanding the potential association of screen time with opportunities for children and adults to talk and interact in their home environment.

Read more

"So standard it's not noteworthy" -- Teenage girls' experiences of harm online

Written by Internetmatters.org | Published March 1, 2024

The positive feelings girls experience online are often constrained by the fact that many experience harm online, such as harassment and exposure to undesirable and harmful content and contact. This is borne out by the fact 77% of girls aged 13-16 report online experiences that are harmful (or potentially harmful) – significantly more than all children (66%). There is a widely prevalent belief amongst girls that experiencing harms such as these is an intrinsic component of the digital space.

Read the full report

Excessive social media use during the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated adolescent mental health challenges

Written by Emma G Duerden & Michaela Kent | Published January 18, 2024