Parent-Adolescent Discrepancies in Adolescent Recreational Screen Time Reporting During the Coronavirus Disease 2019 Pandemic

Abstract

Objective To describe the relationship between parent and adolescent reports of adolescent recreational screen time and to determine sociodemographic predictors of recreational screen time reporting differences during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods We analyzed data from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study (ABCD, N=5,335, ages 10-14) a national prospective cohort study in the US collected in May 2020. We compared parent-reported, adolescent-reported, and a parent-adolescent differences in recreational screen time hours per day across five screen categories. Results Adolescents’ total recreational screen time per day was reported as 4.46 hours by parents and 3.87 hours by adolescents. Parents reported higher levels of their child's texting, video chatting, and total recreational screen time, while adolescents reported higher multi-player gaming and social media use. Larger discrepancies in total recreational screen time were found in older, Black, and Latino/Hispanic adolescents. Larger discrepancies in total recreational screen time were also found among unmarried/unpartnered parents. Conclusions Given discrepancies in parent-adolescent recreational screen time reporting during the pandemic, a period of high screen use, pediatricians should encourage family discussions about adolescent media use through the development of a Family Media Use Plan. The digital media industry could provide more opportunities for parental monitoring of recreational screen time within product designs.

Social epidemiology of early adolescent problematic screen use in the United States

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Mediation of Parental Aggravation in the Association Between ADHD Severity and Electronic Media Use: A National Survey of Children’s Health Study

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