Using gadgets whilst watching TV can harm mental wellbeing

Study in 10-11 year olds warns about "multi-screen viewing"

By Ian Birch

A study by two British universities has shown, for the first time, that primary school children have become addicted to “multi-screen viewing” – the practice of using gadgets like mobile phones, laptops and games consoles whilst watching TV in the background – and that this may be harmful to their mental wellbeing.

Boy playing computer game on TVThe 63 10-11 year olds who took part in the research gave three reasons for “multi-screen viewing” – 1) that they enjoyed it, 2) they used a second device to fill in breaks during their entertainment, often talking or texting their friends during adverts or while they were waiting for computer games to load, and 3) boredom: especially if their parents were watching a “boring” TV programme.

One of the children in the study commented: ““I'm on my DSi and my laptop. On my DSi I'm on MSN and on my laptop I'm on Facebook and then the TV is on.”

Screen viewing in youth is, of course, as the study points out, absolutely commonplace, but there are concerns over young peoples’ sedentary lifestyles and the increasing tendency to view more than one device at once.   High levels of youth TV viewing have previously been linked to an increased risk of obesity in adulthood.

Dr Russell Jago’s previous research has demonstrated that there are also effects on the mental wellbeing of young people who view a lot of TV and it is this aspect which most concerns me most.  Dr Jago, Reader in Exercise, Nutrition and Health Sciences and NIHR Career Development Fellow, at Bristol University, said:

 “There is a shortage of information about the nature of contemporary screen-viewing amongst children especially given the rapid advances in screen-viewing equipment technology and their widespread availability.  For example, TV programmes are watched on computers, games consoles can be used to surf the internet, smartphones, tablet computers and hand-held games play music, video games provide internet access, and laptop computers can do all of the above”

“Health campaigns recommend reducing the amount of time children spend watching TV. However the children in this study often had access to at least five different devices at any one time, and many of these devices were portable. This meant that children were able to move the equipment between their bedrooms and family rooms, depending on whether they wanted privacy or company.

“So simply removing the TV from a child's room may not be enough to address the health concerns and we need to work with families to develop strategies to limit the overall time spent multi-screen viewing wherever it occurs within the home."

The paper, entitled "I'm on it 24/7 at the moment": A qualitative examination of multi-screen viewing behaviours among UK 10-11 year olds by Russell Jago, Simon J Sebire, Trish Gorely, Itziar Hoyos Cillero and Stuart J H Biddle is published in BioMed Central’s open access journal, International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity.   See below for a link to the full text of the article.

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External links

Press Release on latest research

IJBNPA abstract and full article availble here online

Dr Russell Jago's Bristol university homepage

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