Digital Technology Use during the COVID-19 Pandemic and Its Relations to Sleep Quality and Life Satisfaction in Children and Parents

Abstract

This research aimed to examine digital technology (DT) use, sleep quality (SQ), and the correlations between these variables in children and parents, in Croatia during the lockdown. Furthermore, it aimed to determine parental life satisfaction (LS) and its relation to DT use. In an online questionnaire, 281 parents of children (3 to 14 years old) provided information about the duration of DT activities throughout the pandemic, compared to the time before the pandemic, the time spent using digital devices in a typical day, and SQ for themselves and their children, as well as the estimates of personal LS. The results show that the relationship between DT use and SQ during the lockdown differs between parents and children. More time spent using DT devices is not related to SQ in parents, and more time spent on smartphones is positively associated with parents' LS. In children, the prolonged use of smartphones for leisure is negatively linked to SQ. These results call for caution in allowing children longer screen time.

The impact of media on children during the COVID-19 pandemic: A narrative review

“…(2021) Parental Mental Health and Children's Behaviors and Media Usage during COVID-19-Related School Closures COVID-19; School Closure; Parental Mental Health, Children's Behaviors; Media Usage An ad hoc questionnaire was developed for the present study; Children's Sleep Habits Questionnaire (CSHQ; Owens et al., 2000 ); Behavior Problem Index (BPI; Zill and Peterson, 1986 ); Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9; Kroenke et al., 2001 ). Kotrla Topić, M., Varga, V., & Jelovčić, S. (2021) Digital technology use during the covid-19 pandemic and its relations to sleep quality and life satisfaction in children and parents digital technology, life satisfaction, lockdown, sleep quality An ad hoc questionnaire was developed for the present study. Li, X., Vanderloo, L. M., Keown-Stoneman, C. D., Cost, K. T., Charach, A., Maguire, J. L., ... & Birken, C. S. (2021b) Screen Use and Mental Health Symptoms in Canadian Children and Youth During the COVID-19 Pandemic specific forms of screen use, depression, anxiety, conduct problems, irritability, hyperactivity, and inattention in children and youth during COVID-19.…”

“…It is possible to summarize the various contributions in this article by following a few main themes: the psychological and physical outcomes of using and owning technological gadgets during COVID-19 ( Adachi et al., 2022 ; Camerini et al., 2022 ; Chen et al., 2021 ; Chen et al., 2022 ; Cowan et al., 2021 ; Guo et al., 2021 ; Hmidan, 2022 ; Limone and Toto, 2021 ; Werling et al., 2021a ; Serra et al., 2021 ); behavioral problems related to overuse of media during COVID-19 ( Li et al., 2021b ; Marfua, 2021 ); the relationship between eating and sleeping disorders and the use of media during the pandemic ( Kamaleddine et al., 2022 ; Kim et al., 2022 ; Kotrla Topić et al., 2021 ); the effect of media in groups of clinical and ADHD children ( Sciberras et al., 2022 ; Shuai et al., 2021 ).…”

Psychological Research on Sleep Problems and Adjustment of Working Hours during Teleworking in the COVID-19 Pandemic: An Exploratory Study

“…Employees and students spend more time in front of screens that emit levels of blue light that can be harmful. Thanks to the increased amount of time spent on digital devices in the COVID-19 period, eye-care professionals and employers are increasingly concerned about the impacts they may have on the health of the population due to increased exposure to blue light [ 66 ]. According to several authors, increased time exposed to screens impacts optical health, diet, habits and sleep routines [ 67 , 68 , 69 ].…”

Parents’ literacy on mobile advertising aimed at children: a cross - cultural approach

“…On the other hand, there are a number of challenges that the Covid-19 pandemic has posed for the role of parents and caregivers of children; indeed, in psychological terms, there has been a need to manage depression and perceived stress in children due to confinement and lack of face-to-face time with peers (Achterberg et al , 2021; Wang et al , 2021), as well as the change in the management and scheduling of routines (Bell et al , 2020), due to the time they have had to spend at home and the difficulties in separating their school and family interaction contexts. Additionally, relationships with peers and family members have undergone forced changes (Soltero-González and Gillanders, 2021), making the notion of entertainment and use of free time a complex issue to address (Donati et al , 2021; Eyler et al , 2021), which also leads to drastic changes in media use and access (Kotrla Topić et al , 2021; Werling et al , 2021). Future research may aim to investigate how this post-pandemic context has affected the level of parents’ mobile AL and its possible relationship with different parenting styles.…”