ABCs or attack–boom–crash? A longitudinal analysis of associations between media content and the development of problematic media use in early childhood.

Abstract

Researchers have begun to extensively examine pathological (or addictive-like) media use during adolescence and adulthood. However, few studies have examined precursors to these types of behavior (termed problematic media use) in early childhood, with even fewer examining predictors of this behavior over time. The present longitudinal study examined bidirectional associations between television (TV) content (educational, prosocial, and violence) and problematic media use over a 1-year period during early childhood. Participants included 443 children (M age at Wave 1 = 29.68 months) and their parents. Results revealed that early educational media was protective against developing problematic media use over time. However, early problematic media use was not predictive of future media content choices longitudinally. Additionally, problematic media use was moderately stable over time. Implications for parents and policymakers regarding the importance of early media content for later outcomes and consideration of media use trajectories are discussed.

Algorithmic Content Recommendations on a Video-Sharing Platform Used by Children

“…Content creators create thumbnails using VSP tools or graphic design software and some VSPs allow content creators to A/B test their thumbnails (ie, release 2 different versions and keep the thumbnail that generates the most engagement). When creators realize that thumbnails with certain characteristics tend to be more successful in generating interest in their content, they may use these The figure shows the frequency of content codes by the sequence of screenshot (1)(2)(3)(4)(5)(6)(7)(8)(9)(10)(11)(12)(13)(14)(15)(16)(17)(18)(19)(20) for visual loudness (A), drama and intrigue (B), creepy, bizarre, and disturbing (C), violence, peril, and pranks (D), gender stereotypes (E), and lavish excess and wish fulfillment (F). Regarding coding level, level 0 indicated absent; level 1, present to a lesser degree or latent and implied; and level 2, clearly present.…”

“…8 When children consume age-inappropriate or violent media, they have a higher rate of disrupted sleep, 9 externalizing behavior problems, 10 and problematic media use. 11 Automated recommender systems shape what content children see on VSPs but have received very limited study. These systems operate by incorporating information about what videos are trending (ie, have high engagement in the form of comments or likes) and what videos cluster in the same user patterns (ie, viewers who like cat videos) to generate a list of recommended videos to watch next.…”

Silencing screaming with screens: The longitudinal relationship between media emotion regulation processes and children's emotional reactivity, emotional knowledge, and empathy.

“…However, the effect would likely be weakened if children were viewing noneducational or violent content when upset. We did not measure the content that is generally consumed by children during a media emotion regulation episode, but other research suggests that most programs directed toward this particular age are highly prosocial and educational (Coyne et al, 2022). We hope future research explores media content as a possible mechanism between media emotion regulation and empathy development across early childhood.…”

“…We also did not examine what exactly children were viewing when they were given a device to regulate emotion. If they were viewing high-quality, educational content, it may have a vastly different effect than low-quality noneducational programming (e.g., Coyne et al, 2022). Finally, though our assessment of emotion knowledge has been well established in the literature (Denham, 1986), an assessment with open-ended questions may more accurately capture children's emotion knowledge.…”

Promoting healthy screen use in children with externalizing behavior

“…From an ecological systems perspective, caregivers also influence children's media use directly by providing and mediating access to screen media devices and content, and indirectly through modeling their own media use (Nikken & Schols, 2015). The extent to which caregivers effectively use strategies to monitor children's screen media use, establish consistent screen media routines, and transition children away from screen media to other activities likely depends on their parenting skills (Coyne et al., 2023; Sanders et al., 2016). For parents of children with externalizing behavior problems, difficulty managing their children's behavior may be a barrier to managing their children's screen media routines (Evans et al., 2011; Halpin et al., 2021).…”