My colleagues and I identified these groups based on analyzes of data from 10,460 U.S. schoolchildren followed over six years. It is important to understand which children regularly use online technologies, as such activities can displace the development of appropriate activities, including physical activity, sleep, and independent book reading.
We found that kindergarten children who were aggressive or often behaved were more likely to use these online technologies several times a day at the end of primary school, just like children from low-income families. Black children were also more likely to use regular online technology later on.
Boys were more likely to use online games on a regular basis, while girls were more likely to use social networks and messaging.
Children of parents who emphasized early literacy activities and who set limits on watching TV were later less likely to use online technologies.
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Why it matters
Children are increasingly using online technologies – such as Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and other social networking apps; play via Xbox, PlayStation or smartphones; and messages via WhatsApp, Snapchat or text messages – worried parents, educators and healthcare providers for good reason.
Regular use of online technologies can displace the development of beneficial activities – think of physical activity, sleep, parent-child interactions, and independent book reading. Children who use online technologies many times a day are more likely to be sedentary, sleep deprived and overweight; to struggle academically or behavior at school; and to report even worse quality of life and mental health. Children’s use of online technologies also increased sharply during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Our study provides new information on which kindergartens in the US will later regularly use online technologies. This new information can help inform public health campaigns for the most at-risk families. Routines that promote optimal levels of online technology use, physical activity, sleep, book reading, and other activities should help children develop physically, cognitively, academically, and behaviorally.
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What is not yet known
Our study has limitations. Our results can be conservative because children themselves report how often they have used online technologies. Data collection was stopped before the Covid-19 pandemic began.
Our results are not causal. We are not sure why specific groups of children will later regularly use regular users of online technologies. We do have some hypotheses. Parents in low-income families may allow more screen time because they have greater demands on their own time and resources. Parents of children who are acting can turn to electronic devices to satisfy their children’s outbursts. Early experiences of racial discrimination can lead to black children frequently using online technologies to connect with similar peers and express their racial or ethnic identity.
And it is important to realize that there is only limited evidence that children’s use of online technology is harmful. Such damage may be limited to regular users of specific technologies from specific populations. Further study and analysis is needed to investigate these relationships. In the future, online technologies may be designed to promote healthy behavior, including by vulnerable populations.
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What’s next
By identifying which young children are regular regular use of online technologies at this early stage, it can help families avoid problems.
Other research suggests, for example, that girls may be harmed, especially through social networking, due to increased exposure to cyberbullying and feelings of dissatisfaction with body weight, as well as reduced sleep and exercise. Our study found that girls are increasingly likely to use these technologies at the end of elementary school. It is especially important to limit social networks and messages during this early development period.
Using screen-time routines that help children meet the recommended guidelines for physical play, sleep, book reading, and other beneficial developmental activities can help them use too many online technologies. It can also help restrict access to children during homework, meals and within one hour after bedtime. Families can set rules that restrict access to electronic devices. Parents can encourage early literacy activities that help children become independent readers.
Educators and health care providers can inform parents about the recurring negative link between frequent use of online technologies and children’s development, as well as supporting and assisting families in setting up screen routines.
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Paul L. Morgan is an Eberly Fellow, Professor of Education and Demography, and Director of the Center for Educational Disparities Research in Penn State.