About this srcd poster session

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Panel information
Panel 24. Technology, Media & Child Development

Abstract

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Preschoolers spend several hours daily engaging in screens. Some researchers argued that digital media use would diminish children’s development, including cognitive and language skills (Madigan et al., 2019), while others discussed that it could support learning and development (Griffith et al., 2020). However, there is a scarcity of research on how digital media use is associated with children’s executive function (EF). The contradictory findings suggest that digital media use is not related to concurrent EF skills (Jusienė et al., 2020) or negatively related to later EF skills (McHarg et al., 2020). However, these studies mainly considered the duration of the media use. While screen time is an important factor and should be examined, how children spend time with the media is also worth examination. For example, in a previous study, we found that playing interactive digital games and watching content (passively) are different factors within children’s digital home learning environment. They are uniquely associated with children’s outcomes (Tatar et al., under review), suggesting that screen time and type of engagement can be associated with children’s EF differently.

The current study aimed to understand whether preschoolers’ (Mage= 56.3 months, SD=6.42) digital media use, both screen time and the type of use, is associated with their EF skills. EF refers to the higher-order cognitive skills (Shonkoff & Phillips, 2000), and its conceptualization can vary. We assessed children’s behavioral regulation using the Head-Toes-Knees-Shoulders (Gonzales et al., 2021), cognitive flexibility using the Dimensional Card Change Sort Task (Zelazo, 2006), inhibitory control using the Day-Night Stroop Task (Gerstadt et al., 1994), and working memory using Digit Span task (Wechsler, 1991). Also, parents (N= 291) were surveyed on children’s digital media use habits.

Almost all families (98%) reported that their children engage in a variety of digital media activities. They also reported that children spent an average of 3.04 hours (SD=2.5) with digital devices during a typical weekday and 4.09 hours (SD=2.4) during a day on a typical weekend. We found that children’s weekday screen time was significantly and negatively associated with children’s behavioral regulation (β= -2.82, p=.004) and inhibitory control (β= -.71, p=.014), but not working memory (β= -.05 p=.051) and cognitive flexibility (β= -.06, p=.336) However, there were no significant associations between weekend screen time and any aspects of EF (Table1). Structural equation modeling examined the associations between the type of digital engagement (digital play and watching content) and children’s EF skills and did not find any significant associations (Figure 1).

The negative associations between screen time and some aspects of EF can stem from excessive screen time, as children in our sample exceed the American Academy of Pediatrics recommendations (<1 hour a day). The lack of associations for weekend screen time could reflect differences in activities between weekdays and weekends. The absence of significant relationships between the type of engagement and EF suggests that excessive screen time might displace more beneficial activities regardless of content. These highlight the importance of considering the duration and context of media use when assessing its impact on children's development.

Author information

Author	Role
Burcu H. Tatar, Michigan State University	Presenting author
Lori E. Skibbe, Michigan State University	Non-presenting author

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