A Comparative Time-Diary Analysis of UK and US Children’s Screen Time and Device Use

Killian Mullan,Sandra L. Hofferth

doi:10.1007/s12187-021-09884-3

Killian Mullan, Sandra L. Hofferth

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1007/s12187-021-09884-3

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Abstract

This paper presents the results of a comparative analysis of the time school-age children 8-17 years in the UK and the US spent using devices such as smartphones and tablets, and their time in screen-based activities such as watching TV and playing videogames in 2014-15. The paper draws on innovative instruments measuring children’s time using technology and engaging with screens in these two countries. We find that in both, children’s time using devices overlaps with time in screen-based activities, non-screen leisure, and non-leisure activities. Children in the UK spend more time using devices than children in the US, but family size and the availability of an internet connection at home largely explain major cross-national differences. Children in the US spend less time using computers than children in the UK, and, on non-school days, more time watching TV and playing videogames. These differences remain significant after controlling for a range of child, parent and family-level characteristics. Divergent cross-national patterns for children’s time using relatively new devices and their time in more established screen-based activities are linked to differences in family composition and to differential access.

Highlights

Technological change over the past several decades has affected the daily lives of children in many countries across the world
Changing technology has influenced children’s time in screen-based activities. They spend less time watching TV, more time playing videogames and using computers, as well as more time using smartphones and other devices during non-screen activities such as eating and travelling (Mullan, 2018; Mullan, 2020). These changes in children’s time spent in screen-based activities and in time using the internet are observed across a wide range of different countries (Bucksch et al, 2016; OECD, 2017)
Data on the time use of children 8-17 years in the UK are drawn from the latest UK Time Use Survey 2014-15, which contains a representative sample of individuals aged 8+ years in UK households (Gershuny & Sullivan, 2017)

Summary

Introduction

Technological change over the past several decades has affected the daily lives of children in many countries across the world. Changing technology has influenced children’s time in screen-based activities They spend less time watching TV, more time playing videogames and using computers, as well as more time using smartphones and other devices during non-screen activities such as eating and travelling (Mullan, 2018; Mullan, 2020). These changes in children’s time spent in screen-based activities and in time using the internet are observed across a wide range of different countries (Bucksch et al, 2016; OECD, 2017)

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