Summary:
Smartphone and screen use are widespread among children and adolescents. By age 12, most children own a smartphone and many regularly engage in activities such as gaming, social media, messaging, video calls, and streaming media. Alongside this, only a small proportion of young people meet recommended guidelines for physical activity, sleep, and healthy screen habits. Patterns of screen use differ across demographic groups. Girls tend to spend more time on social media, while boys more commonly engage in video gaming. However, smartphone ownership and digital engagement remain high across all groups and demographics. The long-term developmental and health impacts of different types of screen exposure remain unclear. Much of the existing research has relied on cross-sectional studies that measure total screen time at a single point, limiting the ability to examine changes over time. This study used a longitudinal cohort design as part of the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study, a large 10-year investigation examining brain development and health in children across the United States. The study aimed to improve measurement of screen use by developing comprehensive questionnaires completed by both children and parents. These surveys assessed the type, timing, and duration of screen activities and were administered annually to track changes in behaviour over time. The measures were refined during the study to reflect developmental changes and evolving technology use among participants. Nearly 12,000 children aged 9-10 years at baseline and their parents were included in the analyses. Screen behaviours changed over the first three years of the study. Both social media use and video gaming increased between the ages of 9-10 and 11-12 years. Girls reported greater engagement with social media and higher scores on the social media addiction measure, while boys spent more time playing video games and scored higher on the video game addiction scale. In addition, gaming increased more rapidly among boys over time. Black participants reported higher scores on both social media and gaming addiction measures compared with other racial or ethnic groups. Overall, this longitudinal cohort study highlights the importance of examining different types of screen activities rather than relying solely on total screen time. The findings demonstrate clear demographic differences in patterns of technology use and provide a framework for examining how screen behaviours change across adolescence and how they may influence health and development over time.
Abstract:
Adolescent screen usage is ubiquitous and influences development and behavior. Longitudinal screen usage data coupled with psychometrically valid constructs of problematic behaviors can provide insights into these relationships. We describe methods by which the screen usage questionnaire was developed in the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study, demonstrate longitudinal changes in screen usage via child report and describe data harmonization baseline-year 2. We further include psychometric analyses of adapted social media and video game addiction scales completed by youth. Nearly 12,000 children ages 9–10 years at baseline and their parents were included in the analyses. The social media addiction questionnaire (SMAQ) showed similar factor structure and item loadings across sex and race/ethnicities, but that item intercepts varied across both sex and race/ethnicity. The videogame addiction questionnaire (VGAQ) demonstrated the same configural, metric and scalar invariance across racial and ethnic groups, however differed across sex. Video gaming and online social activity increased over ages 9/10–11/12 (p’s < 0.001). Compared with boys, girls engaged in greater social media use (p < .001) and demonstrated higher ratings on the SMAQ (p < .001). Compared with girls, boys played more video games (p < .001) and demonstrated higher ratings on the VGAQ (p < .001). Time spent playing video games increased more steeply for boys than girls from age 9/10–11/12 years (p < .001). Black youth demonstrated significantly higher SMAQ and VGAQ scores compared to all other racial/ethnic groups. These data show the importance of considering different screen modalities beyond total screen use and point towards clear demographic differences in use patterns. With these comprehensive data, ABCD is poised to address critical questions about screen usage changes across adolescence.
Article Publication Date: 1/9/2022
DOI: 10.1016/j.dcn.2022.101150
