Patterns of Screen Time Among Rural Mexican-American Children on the New Mexico-Mexico Border

Abstract

IntroductionThe prevalence of obesity is 26% among Hispanic children and teenagers and 47% among Hispanic adults. One contributor to obesity is sedentary behavior, such as using electronic screen devices (ie, screens). Low-income and Hispanic youths spend more time using such devices than other youths.MethodsWe interviewed 202 parents of Mexican-origin children aged 6 to 10 years in 2 rural communities near the US–Mexico border to determine screen use among children. We tested for associations between covariates and heavy screen use (≥4 hours/day) and calculated adjusted odds ratios (AORs) to identify independent, modifiable risk factors for such use.ResultsMore than two-thirds (68.3%) of households had an annual income of less than $24,000, 89.1% spoke primarily Spanish, and 92.1% had internet access. The percentage of children with heavy screen use was 14.9% on weekdays and 25.2% on weekends. Smartphones were used by 62.4% of children, desktops or laptops by 60.9%; homework was the most common reason for use of these devices. One in 3 children used them for social media. Increased odds of heavy screen use were associated with having a television on while the child ate (weekday AOR = 3.02; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.08–8.45 and weekend AOR = 2.38; 95% CI, 1.04–5.40) and using electronics to entertain (weekend AOR = 2.94; 95% CI, 1.15–7.51). More than 3 family meals per week (AOR = 0.40; 95% CI, 0.17–0.94 compared with ≤3 meals) and 2 or 3 family activities per week (AOR = 0.33; 95% CI, 0.12–0.87 compared with ≤1 activity) were associated with decreased odds of heavy weekend use.ConclusionEven in low-income, Spanish-speaking communities, children have access to electronic devices, social media, and the internet, and a substantial fraction of them are heavy users. Efforts to reduce screen time might focus on understanding and changing the social norms that promote it.

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

“…Concerning the first research question on parents' mobile AL level, it is noteworthy that the first point of comparison of this study's results with those of previous studies is the low rate of smartphone access among children compared with children in the USA (62.4%) (McDonald et al, 2018) and South Korea (98.7%) (Bae, 2019). This study found that only 15.9% of the children in Colombia and 6.12% in Spain had access to a smartphone; the country with the highest access rate is Mexico with 50.82%.…”

“…Moreover, this phenomenon seems to be spreading to all layers of the population. One study, using a sample of low-income Hispanic households in the USA, revealed that 62.4% of children and adolescents have access to smartphones, 60.9% have access to desktops and laptops and 92.1% have access to the internet in their homes (McDonald et al , 2018). This scenario of greater access, device portability, and the exponential increase in content and apps aimed at children and adolescents (Kopp, 2018), as well as the use of social networks such as Facebook and Instagram (Sanz-Blas et al , 2019), poses a major challenge for parents particularly in understanding their children’s exposure to advertising on these mobile platforms and how they should mediate or intervene in the interaction between their children and this type of marketing communication.…”

Smartphone Use Time and Total Screen Time Among Students Aged 10–19 and the Effects on Academic Stress: A Large Longitudinal Cohort Study in Shanghai, China

“…Teachers increasingly use smartphones and other electronic devices to arrange, collect and check homework ( 22 ). McDonald et al ( 23 ) found that the most common reason for using smartphones and computers among children was to do homework. To some degree, therefore, smartphone or device use time might represent homework quantity, which could increase academic stress.…”

Prevalence of screen time use and its relationship with obesity, sleep quality, and parental knowledge of related guidelines: A study on children and adolescents attending Primary Healthcare Centers in the Makkah Region

“…[ 3 ] A Mexican study found that of the devices used by children in households, smartphones accounted for 62.4% and desktop or laptops accounted for 60.9%. [ 4 ] Another study of children between 5 and 16 found that an average daily TV viewing exceeded 6 h.[ 5 ]…”