Teens should only use recreational internet, video games one hour daily

Teens who are hooked to recreational internet, video games more than one hour daily have lower grades

Washington: Parents, take note! A new study has found that middle-school-aged children who use the internet, social media, or video games recreationally for more than an hour each day during the school week have significantly lower grades and test scores.

The findings of the study appeared in the journal titled Computers in Human Behavior. The study was led by the Center for Gambling Studies at Rutgers University-New Brunswick.

Researchers said that the findings give parents and children a moderate threshold for using entertainment-related technology — no more than one hour daily on school days and four hours a day on weekends.

“Interactive technology is widely used to promote children’s educational access and achievement,” said lead author Vivien (Wen Li) Anthony, an assistant professor at the School of Social Work and research associate at the Rutgers Center for Gambling Studies.

“During the Covid-19 pandemic, technology has been essential to facilitating remote learning. At the same time, there is a growing concern that excessive technology use, particularly for entertainment, may adversely affect children’s educational development by facilitating undesirable study habits and detracting from time spent on learning activities,” Anthony added.

The researchers, which include Professor Lia Nower of the Rutgers Center for Gambling Studies and a researcher from Renmin University of China, analysed the China Education Panel Survey data, a national survey of educational needs and outcomes of children in China. Approximately 10,000 first-year middle school students were surveyed and followed. Their average age was 13.5 years.

The results showed that children who used the internet, social media or video games for entertainment four or more hours daily were four times more likely to skip school than those who did not. Boys used interactive technology for entertainment significantly more than girls. Boys also performed worse and showed lower school engagement levels than girls.

“Such findings are critical, particularly in light of the recent movement toward online learning in countries throughout the world,” said Anthony.

Anthony said using interactive technology for entertainment in moderation advanced children’s cognitive development.