Screen time exposure and academic performance, anxiety, and behavioral problems among school children
Background The growth of the digital landscape has surely outpaced research on the effects of screen media on the health, learning, and development of children. The potential risk-to-benefit ratio of screen media exposure for education and entertainment purposes warrants further exploration. Therefo...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
PeerJ Inc.
2025-05-01
|
| Series: | PeerJ |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://peerj.com/articles/19409.pdf |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1849312289943977984 |
|---|---|
| author | Mohammad Sidiq Balamurugan Janakiraman Faizan Kashoo Rayan Jastania Abdullah Ibrahim Alhusayni Abdullah Alzahrani Aksh Chahal Alagappan Thiyagarajan Imran Khan Chandan Kumar Rajkumar Krishnan Vasanthi Fahad Alanazi Mehrunnisha Ahmad Chhavi Arora Sehgal Shabnam Khan Mshari Alghadier |
| author_facet | Mohammad Sidiq Balamurugan Janakiraman Faizan Kashoo Rayan Jastania Abdullah Ibrahim Alhusayni Abdullah Alzahrani Aksh Chahal Alagappan Thiyagarajan Imran Khan Chandan Kumar Rajkumar Krishnan Vasanthi Fahad Alanazi Mehrunnisha Ahmad Chhavi Arora Sehgal Shabnam Khan Mshari Alghadier |
| author_sort | Mohammad Sidiq |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background The growth of the digital landscape has surely outpaced research on the effects of screen media on the health, learning, and development of children. The potential risk-to-benefit ratio of screen media exposure for education and entertainment purposes warrants further exploration. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the relationships between screen time and academic performance, anxiety, and outdoor playing among school children in India. Methods A total of 537 parents responded to this online survey and reported approximately 537 Indian school children (mean age 10.9 years) from five schools. Data was collected using an e-questionnaire which consisted of a socio-demographic domain, recreational activities, self-reported physical measures, academic performance, information related to children’s screen time, the Spence Children Anxiety Scale (SCAS), and the Pediatric Symptom Checklist (parent version) instruments. We employed multivariate linear regression models to estimate the association between children’s screen time and the predictor variables with 0.05 alpha as level of significance. Results The mean screen time was 3.06 ± 1.22 h/day, the average duration of outdoor play per week was 11.23 ± 4.1 h, and the mean body mass index (BMI) was 18.2 ± 3.2. Screen time (h) in a typical week was positively correlated with BMI, the SCAS anxiety score, and behavioral problems and negatively correlated with academic performance. School children’s screen time was a predictor of their BMI, behavioral symptoms, and academic performance according to the linear regression analysis. Conclusion Our findings pointed out that screen time was associated with increased BMI, behavioral problems and poor academic performance. These insights shall be used for development of targeted tailored interventions and strategies to reduce childhood obesity related to screen time. Further research is necessary to rule out the influence of other intricate factors, such as sleep, parental practices, family connectedness, and supervision of parents. The careful use of digital media must serve as a positive force in children’s educational and developmental trajectories. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-e0f5c5c41618464880a301f5c9f5fbf1 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2167-8359 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-05-01 |
| publisher | PeerJ Inc. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | PeerJ |
| spelling | doaj-art-e0f5c5c41618464880a301f5c9f5fbf12025-08-20T03:53:07ZengPeerJ Inc.PeerJ2167-83592025-05-0113e1940910.7717/peerj.19409Screen time exposure and academic performance, anxiety, and behavioral problems among school childrenMohammad Sidiq0Balamurugan Janakiraman1Faizan Kashoo2Rayan Jastania3Abdullah Ibrahim Alhusayni4Abdullah Alzahrani5Aksh Chahal6Alagappan Thiyagarajan7Imran Khan8Chandan Kumar9Rajkumar Krishnan Vasanthi10Fahad Alanazi11Mehrunnisha Ahmad12Chhavi Arora Sehgal13Shabnam Khan14Mshari Alghadier15Department of Physiotherapy, School of Allied Health Sciences, Galgotias University, Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh, IndiaSRM College of Physiotherapy, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, SRM Institute of Science and Technology (SRMIST), Chennai, Tamil Nadu, IndiaDepartment of Physical Therapy and Health Rehabilitation, College of Applied Medical Sciences, Majmaah University, Al Majmaah, Saudi ArabiaDepartment of Physical Therapy, Faculty of Medical Rehabilitation Sciences, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi ArabiaDepartment of Health Rehabilitation, College of Applied Medical Sciences, Shaqra University, Shaqra, Saudi ArabiaDepartment of Health Rehabilitation, College of Applied Medical Sciences, Shaqra University, Shaqra, Saudi ArabiaDepartment of Physiotherapy, School of Allied Health Sciences, Galgotias University, Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh, IndiaDepartment of Physiotherapy, Chettinad Academy of Research and Education, Chennai, IndiaDepartment of Physiotherapy, University of Engineering and Management, Jaipur, IndiaDepartment of Physiotherapy, School of Allied Health Sciences, Galgotias University, Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh, IndiaFaculty of Health and Life Sciences, INTI International University, Nilai, MalaysiaDepartment of Physical Therapy and Health Rehabilitation, College of Applied Medical Sciences, Jouf University, Aljouf, Saudi ArabiaCollege of Nursing, Majmaah University, Riyadh, Saudi ArabiaCentre for Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation Sciences, Jamia Millia Islamia University, New Delhi, IndiaCentre for Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation Sciences, Jamia Millia Islamia University, New Delhi, IndiaDepartment of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, College of Applied Medical Sciences, Prince Sattam Bin Abdulaziz University, Riyadh, Saudi ArabiaBackground The growth of the digital landscape has surely outpaced research on the effects of screen media on the health, learning, and development of children. The potential risk-to-benefit ratio of screen media exposure for education and entertainment purposes warrants further exploration. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the relationships between screen time and academic performance, anxiety, and outdoor playing among school children in India. Methods A total of 537 parents responded to this online survey and reported approximately 537 Indian school children (mean age 10.9 years) from five schools. Data was collected using an e-questionnaire which consisted of a socio-demographic domain, recreational activities, self-reported physical measures, academic performance, information related to children’s screen time, the Spence Children Anxiety Scale (SCAS), and the Pediatric Symptom Checklist (parent version) instruments. We employed multivariate linear regression models to estimate the association between children’s screen time and the predictor variables with 0.05 alpha as level of significance. Results The mean screen time was 3.06 ± 1.22 h/day, the average duration of outdoor play per week was 11.23 ± 4.1 h, and the mean body mass index (BMI) was 18.2 ± 3.2. Screen time (h) in a typical week was positively correlated with BMI, the SCAS anxiety score, and behavioral problems and negatively correlated with academic performance. School children’s screen time was a predictor of their BMI, behavioral symptoms, and academic performance according to the linear regression analysis. Conclusion Our findings pointed out that screen time was associated with increased BMI, behavioral problems and poor academic performance. These insights shall be used for development of targeted tailored interventions and strategies to reduce childhood obesity related to screen time. Further research is necessary to rule out the influence of other intricate factors, such as sleep, parental practices, family connectedness, and supervision of parents. The careful use of digital media must serve as a positive force in children’s educational and developmental trajectories.https://peerj.com/articles/19409.pdfScreen timeAnxietyAcademic performanceSchool childrenBehavior pattern |
| spellingShingle | Mohammad Sidiq Balamurugan Janakiraman Faizan Kashoo Rayan Jastania Abdullah Ibrahim Alhusayni Abdullah Alzahrani Aksh Chahal Alagappan Thiyagarajan Imran Khan Chandan Kumar Rajkumar Krishnan Vasanthi Fahad Alanazi Mehrunnisha Ahmad Chhavi Arora Sehgal Shabnam Khan Mshari Alghadier Screen time exposure and academic performance, anxiety, and behavioral problems among school children PeerJ Screen time Anxiety Academic performance School children Behavior pattern |
| title | Screen time exposure and academic performance, anxiety, and behavioral problems among school children |
| title_full | Screen time exposure and academic performance, anxiety, and behavioral problems among school children |
| title_fullStr | Screen time exposure and academic performance, anxiety, and behavioral problems among school children |
| title_full_unstemmed | Screen time exposure and academic performance, anxiety, and behavioral problems among school children |
| title_short | Screen time exposure and academic performance, anxiety, and behavioral problems among school children |
| title_sort | screen time exposure and academic performance anxiety and behavioral problems among school children |
| topic | Screen time Anxiety Academic performance School children Behavior pattern |
| url | https://peerj.com/articles/19409.pdf |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT mohammadsidiq screentimeexposureandacademicperformanceanxietyandbehavioralproblemsamongschoolchildren AT balamuruganjanakiraman screentimeexposureandacademicperformanceanxietyandbehavioralproblemsamongschoolchildren AT faizankashoo screentimeexposureandacademicperformanceanxietyandbehavioralproblemsamongschoolchildren AT rayanjastania screentimeexposureandacademicperformanceanxietyandbehavioralproblemsamongschoolchildren AT abdullahibrahimalhusayni screentimeexposureandacademicperformanceanxietyandbehavioralproblemsamongschoolchildren AT abdullahalzahrani screentimeexposureandacademicperformanceanxietyandbehavioralproblemsamongschoolchildren AT akshchahal screentimeexposureandacademicperformanceanxietyandbehavioralproblemsamongschoolchildren AT alagappanthiyagarajan screentimeexposureandacademicperformanceanxietyandbehavioralproblemsamongschoolchildren AT imrankhan screentimeexposureandacademicperformanceanxietyandbehavioralproblemsamongschoolchildren AT chandankumar screentimeexposureandacademicperformanceanxietyandbehavioralproblemsamongschoolchildren AT rajkumarkrishnanvasanthi screentimeexposureandacademicperformanceanxietyandbehavioralproblemsamongschoolchildren AT fahadalanazi screentimeexposureandacademicperformanceanxietyandbehavioralproblemsamongschoolchildren AT mehrunnishaahmad screentimeexposureandacademicperformanceanxietyandbehavioralproblemsamongschoolchildren AT chhaviarorasehgal screentimeexposureandacademicperformanceanxietyandbehavioralproblemsamongschoolchildren AT shabnamkhan screentimeexposureandacademicperformanceanxietyandbehavioralproblemsamongschoolchildren AT msharialghadier screentimeexposureandacademicperformanceanxietyandbehavioralproblemsamongschoolchildren |