Screen Time and Learner Well-being

aged 5 - 15 years. 5 Given the importance of observing social distancing measures, it may not be
practical to follow the screen time guidelines developed in the pre-COVID-19 times. This paper
however was not able to cover research on screen time in the context of COVID-19, as few
studies have been published by the time the paper was completed.
What is the current ‘state of the art’ of the knowledge on screen time?
While there is an emerging body of high-quality studies, research on screen time suffers from
conceptual, theoretical and methodological limitations that make the evidence collected so far
inadequate in terms of guiding policy. As will be discussed below in Key Insights 2 and 3, ‘screen
time’ is not a sensible construct as an object of study. Consequently, studies that take it at face
value are likely misleading because of the confounding of more important variables (Key Insight
4).
Not only is the geographic coverage of screen-time literature largely restricted to North America
and Europe, most studies are limited in terms of deriving causal relationships, as they are
correlational or associational in nature. Many studies use cross-sectional data, which is helpful
for hypothesis generation, but not suitable for hypothesis testing and for capturing the longterm
outcomes. Furthermore, most studies control and account for a limited set of background
variables, with insufficient consideration of children’s broader life context, which risks
overestimating the effect of screen time (‘positive confounding’) or observing association
between screen time and well-being outcomes when in fact there might be none.
As UNICEF’s literature review covering research conducted between 2005 and 2017 on the
impact of digital technology use on children’s well-being (Kardefelt-Winther 2017) has pointed
out, research in this area tends to focus on screen harm and the hypothetical idea of addiction
to technology, rather than investigating why some children spend more time on screen-based
media devices than others and when more screen time under what conditions might have an
effect—positively or negatively—on their well-being.
Perhaps more fundamentally, not only is there insufficient evidence base to determine when
screen time becomes excessive, determining ‘excessive use’ itself depends on the context in
which screen-based media devices are used and is shaped by what is perceived to be ‘normal’
or ‘moderate’ use of such devices. Furthermore, in addition to generational differences on what
is considered ‘normal’ use, views and opinions on ‘how much screen time is too much’ and
‘which use is appropriate’ will change over time and according to changing contexts. In this
respect, it is telling that WHO supported video games as a healthy means of physical distancing
5
COVID-19 Impact: Screen time up by 100% for children, 15 June 2020, The Economic Times
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/services/education/covid-19-impact-screen-time-up-by-100-forchildren/articleshow/76383951.cms?from=mdr
6
Screen Time and Learner Well-being:
The Debate, the Evidence and Directions for Future Research and Policy
A Research Brief by UNESCO MGIEP