An umbrella review of the benefits and risks associated with youths’ interactions with electronic screens

Sanders, Taren; Noetel, Michael; Parker, Philip; Del Pozo Cruz, Borja; Biddle, Stuart; Ronto, Rimante; Hulteen, Ryan; Parker, Rhiannon; Thomas, George; De Cocker, Katrien; Salmon, Jo; Hesketh, Kylie; Weeks, Nicole; Arnott, Hugh; Devine, Emma; Vasconcellos, Roberta; Pagano, Rebecca; Sherson, Jamie; Conigrave, James; Lonsdale, Chris

doi:10.1038/s41562-023-01712-8

Cited by 19 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 238 publications

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“…The presence of screens in adolescents' daily lives has transitioned from being a casual element to a critical aspect of their environment, necessitating a deliberate approach to managing screen time. Judicious screen exposure in this context has shifted towards being a learned behavior rather than a spontaneous one, with the ultimate goal of balancing the known beneficial and deleterious effects of screen exposure [62]. Within the current study, the association between increased screen exposure (predominantly through television watching) in our sample and increased body weight is a further argument favoring a balanced approach toward the use of electronic devices.…”

Section: General Findingsmentioning

confidence: 76%

Assessing Lifestyle Patterns and Their Influence on Weight Status in Students from a High School in Sibiu, Romania: An Adaptation of ISCOLE Questionnaires and the Child Feeding Questionnaire

Negrea,

Săndulescu

et al. 2024

Nutrients

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The escalation of global obesity is driving research to understand environmental influences on this process, particularly during vulnerable developmental stages such as childhood and adolescence. Efforts include the development of various structured data collection tools. We aimed to adapt a series of previously validated questionnaires from the International Study of Childhood Obesity, Lifestyle and the Environment (ISCOLE), the Child Feeding Questionnaire, and elements from the World Health Organization Childhood Obesity Surveillance Initiative (COSI) in order to assess local lifestyle patterns among Romanian high school students and their families that may predispose them to obesity. To this goal, an expert committee was formed as part of a research partnership to oversee the questionnaire’s translation and adaptation. It consisted of education and school management specialists, clinical research professionals, language experts, and public health experts. The adapted questionnaires were then applied to 114 students enrolled in the 9th and 10th grades attending a high school situated in Sibiu, and their parents. The variables measured were investigated for correlations with overweight and obesity and, as a secondary objective, academic performance. The study revealed several critical findings, including suboptimal sleep durations and physical activity levels among students, a significant amount of screen time, and correlations between weight status and physical activity, sedentary time, and maternal weight status and education levels. The adapted questionnaires proved to be effective tools in capturing the multifaceted factors implicated in adolescent obesity, providing a foundation for targeted interventions and broader public health strategies to address this issue.

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Section: General Findingsmentioning

confidence: 76%

Assessing Lifestyle Patterns and Their Influence on Weight Status in Students from a High School in Sibiu, Romania: An Adaptation of ISCOLE Questionnaires and the Child Feeding Questionnaire

Negrea,

Săndulescu

et al. 2024

Nutrients

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“…The association between digital technology use and mental health is complex. On the one hand, it appears that some public concerns over general technology use and adverse outcomes in young people may be overblown, given the lack of robust evidence for overall effects 25 . That said, the Internet does inarguably provide a platform for young people to become exposed to "online harms", with many valid concerns expressed over obvious threats such as cyberbullying, exposure to pornographic material, and gambling [26][27][28][29] .…”

Section: Endless Engagement In the Online Worldmentioning

confidence: 99%

From “online brains” to “online lives”: understanding the individualized impacts of Internet use across psychological, cognitive and social dimensions

Firth,

Torous,

López‐Gil

et al. 2024

World Psychiatry

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In response to the mass adoption and extensive usage of Internet‐enabled devices across the world, a major review published in this journal in 2019 examined the impact of Internet on human cognition, discussing the concepts and ideas behind the “online brain”. Since then, the online world has become further entwined with the fabric of society, and the extent to which we use such technologies has continued to grow. Furthermore, the research evidence on the ways in which Internet usage affects the human mind has advanced considerably. In this paper, we sought to draw upon the latest data from large‐scale epidemiological studies and systematic reviews, along with randomized controlled trials and qualitative research recently emerging on this topic, in order to now provide a multi‐dimensional overview of the impacts of Internet usage across psychological, cognitive and societal outcomes. Within this, we detail the empirical evidence on how effects differ according to various factors such as age, gender, and usage types. We also draw from new research examining more experiential aspects of individuals’ online lives, to understand how the specifics of their interactions with the Internet, and the impact on their lifestyle, determine the benefits or drawbacks of online time. Additionally, we explore how the nascent but intriguing areas of culturomics, artificial intelligence, virtual reality, and augmented reality are changing our understanding of how the Internet can interact with brain and behavior. Overall, the importance of taking an individualized and multi‐dimensional approach to how the Internet affects mental health, cognition and social functioning is clear. Furthermore, we emphasize the need for guidelines, policies and initiatives around Internet usage to make full use of the evidence available from neuroscientific, behavioral and societal levels of research presented herein.

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“…Most studies have focused on the cumulative duration of interaction, with screen time forming the basis of most health guidelines [23][24][25][26]. But the effect size of screen time is increasingly being questioned [13], and other aspects of child-technology interactions are increasingly being recognised as influential [7,27].…”

Section: Interactionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The role of digital screen technology ('screens') in the lives of children and its potential impact has been heavily debated [1][2][3][4]. There is some evidence to support positive, helpful impacts for children using screens such as increasing learning capacities, higher productivity and enhanced competence in social interaction [5][6][7]. However, there is also some evidence to support negative, harmful impacts such as for physical, emotional and cognitive well-being and overall development [6,[8][9][10][11].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Measurement Method Options to Investigate Digital Screen Technology Use by Children and Adolescents: A Narrative Review

Beynon,

Hendry,

Lund Rasmussen

et al. 2024

Children

Self Cite

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The role and potential impact of digital screen technology in the lives of children is heavily debated. Current evidence is limited by the weakness of measures typically used to characterise screen use, predominantly proxy- or self-reports with known inaccuracy and bias. However, robust and detailed evidence is needed to provide practical trustworthy guidance to families and professionals working with families. The purpose of this paper is to support researchers to select measurement method(s) that will provide robust and detailed evidence. The paper outlines the challenges in measuring contemporary screen use by children, using a child–technology interaction model to organise considerations. A range of different methods used to measure digital screen technology use in children and adolescents (i.e., questionnaires, diaries, electronically prompted sampling, direct observation, fixed room cameras, wearable/portable cameras, audio recorders, screen-device onboard logging, remote digital trace logging and proximity logging) are described along with examples of their use and constructs typically measured as well as a summary of the advantages and disadvantages of each method. A checklist and worked examples are provided to support researchers determining the best methods or combination of methods for a research project.

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An umbrella review of the benefits and risks associated with youths’ interactions with electronic screens

Cited by 19 publications

References 238 publications

Assessing Lifestyle Patterns and Their Influence on Weight Status in Students from a High School in Sibiu, Romania: An Adaptation of ISCOLE Questionnaires and the Child Feeding Questionnaire

Assessing Lifestyle Patterns and Their Influence on Weight Status in Students from a High School in Sibiu, Romania: An Adaptation of ISCOLE Questionnaires and the Child Feeding Questionnaire

From “online brains” to “online lives”: understanding the individualized impacts of Internet use across psychological, cognitive and social dimensions

Measurement Method Options to Investigate Digital Screen Technology Use by Children and Adolescents: A Narrative Review

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