There have long been fears about the time children spend on their phone, and new research has revealed youngsters are now spending nearly five hours a day in front of a screen.
In 2000, young people spent two hours and 59 minutes doing screen-based activities – mainly watching TV and playing computer and video games, the study found.
In 2015, this had risen to four hours and 45 minutes as children increasingly use their technology while doing other things such as socialising and studying.
There have long been fears about the time children spend on their phone and new research has revealed youngsters are now spending nearly five hours a day in front of a screen (stock)
The study, by an academic at Oxford University, is based on diary entries from eight to 18-year-olds, gathered in 2000 and 2015, on how they spend their time.
While use of computers, TVs and other devices has risen in recent years, the majority of this extra time is made up by children incorporating technology into other parts of their life.
Out of the extra hour and 46 minutes, around 30 minutes was due to screen-based activities – children using TV, computer and video games as their main focus.
The other hour and 16 minutes is due to children using devices while taking part in a range of other activities.
This included things such as going to school, socialising, travelling, studying, eating and playing sports, it suggests.
Study author Dr Killian Mullan, senior research associate at Oxford’s Centre for Time Use Research, said: ‘Our findings show that technology is being used with and in some cases perhaps to support other activities, like homework for instance, and not pushing them out.
‘Just like we adults do, children spread their digital tech use throughout the day, while doing other things.’
He added: ‘People think that children are addicted to technology and in front of these screens 24/7, to the exclusion of other activities – and we now know that is not the case.’
He said the bigger point is that, as for adults, children are incorporating technology into daily life.
On paper, the total time children spend using digital devices sounds huge.
‘However, when you break it down, the picture that emerges shows how children have embedded tech in their daily activities – just like we have’, Dr Mullan said.
‘They are taking the tech with them and they are doing all the things that they would do anyway – but now with devices’, he said.
Whether this ability to multi-task is effective, proving a distraction, or even affecting their mental health, is not clear and needs further investigation.
Although boys and girls spend similar amounts of time using devices, boys spend around 50 minutes a day playing video games.
Young people use their phones while doing other things, such as going to school, socialising, travelling, studying, eating and playing sports, it suggests (stock image)
This was significantly more than girls who played just nine minutes a day playing games.
The bulk of girls time is spent engaging in other activities such as study and socialising.
When time spent using devices is added to the measure of total screen-based activities (TV, videogames, computer), the increase in screen time between 2000 and 2015 jumps substantially from 30 minutes to 1 hr 46 min.
The study revealed children spent 10 minutes less time watching TV between 2000 and 2015.
However their time playing videogames and using computers, (when this was the primary focus of their activity), increased by 40 minutes, giving an overall increase of 30 minutes in the time children spent on traditional screen-based activities.
Children spent on average 2hr 46 mins using a device (approximately 20 hours per week).
Around half of this time is when a screen-based activity is the child’s primary focus (1 hr 30 min).
While they report using computers as their main activity for 30 minutes, there is also an activity overlap of approximately an hour, where devices were used while watching TV or playing videogames.
For the remaining time that children are using devices, (a total of 1hr 16 min), they report engaging in a wide range of different activities including when at school (14 mins), socialising (13 min), travelling (12 mins), studying (9 min), eating (6 min), and playing sports (3 min).