Spending time online to help boosting children's well-being

Contrary to what many fear, the time children spend in front of a screen is associated with a good quality of life.Yes you heard me correctly. The concern that media access may be harmful to children and adolescents has been a topic of public debate since long before the existence of the smartphone.

The basis for this new study is that children and adolescents spend the most time online, while also scoring the highest when reporting how happy they are with life. In the new analysis, published in the journal New Media & Society, it is questioned as to how time online is linked to how children and adolescents feel.

They look at both how time online influences self-reported quality of life, and the factors that affect the relationship between the two. This includes what children spend time doing online, including social media and games, but also social factors such as family, school and socioeconomic status.

A total of 1001 children and adolescents between the ages of 9 and 16 were interviewed for the study.The results indicated that family circumstances, for example whether there are strict rules about screen time or whether time is spent facilitating and discussing how children use digital media, influence quality of life.

These findings indicate that for children with a supportive family and school environment, a high number of screen hours is a positive rather than a negative thing when it comes to a good quality of life.

Reference: Tijana Milosevic, Niamh Ní Bhroin, Kjartan Ólafsson, First Published April 6, 2022 Research Article https://doi.org/10.1177/14614448221082651.