Here's How Many Hours Per Day A Child Spends Looking At Screens On Average, New Study Finds

Researchers have found that the average amount of time children spend looking at screens each day has doubled since before the COVID-19 pandemic.

Researchers reported that the time children spend looking at screens has doubled since before the COVID-19 pandemic.
Photo Credit: *Pixabay/Jan Vašek*

Nicole Valinote

11/14/2021 9:30 a.m.

In May of 2020, children ages 12 and 13 spent an average of 7.7 hours per day looking at screens for reasons unrelated to school, according to a study in JAMA Pediatrics by researchers from the University of California-San Francisco.

The university shared the study's findings in an announcement on Monday, Nov. 1.

The figure is a significant increase from the 3.8 hours spent on screens each day prior to the pandemic.

Researchers found that the most common recreational activities were "watching or streaming movies, videos and television, followed by gaming."

The excessive time spent on screens is associated with depression and anxiety, along with binge eating, researchers said.

“As screen time increased, so did adolescents’ worry and stress, while their coping abilities declined,” said Dr. Jason Nagata, the lead author of the study. “Though social media and video chat can foster social connection and support, we found that most of the adolescents’ screen use during the pandemic didn’t serve this purpose."

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