SynthesisObesity reviews : an official journal of the International Association for the Study of Obesity2021
Measurement of screen time among young children aged 0-6 years: A systematic review.
Synthesis in Obesity reviews : an official journal of the International Association for the Study of Obesity, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 62 papers, 7 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
62 citing papers in PubMed, 7 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 140 citations in OpenAlex.
- The Impact of Modifiable Parenting Factors on the Screen Use of Children Five Years or Younger: A Systematic Review.Clinical child and family psychology review · 2025Pooled it
- The association between screen time exposure and myopia in children and adolescents: a meta-analysis.BMC public health · 2024Pooled it
- An umbrella review of the benefits and risks associated with youths' interactions with electronic screens.Nature human behaviour · 2024Pooled it
- Pooled it
- A systematic review of proxy-report questionnaires assessing physical activity, sedentary behavior and/or sleep in young children (aged 0-5 years).The international journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity · 2022Pooled it
- Identifying effective intervention strategies to reduce children's screen time: a systematic review and meta-analysis.The international journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity · 2021Pooled it
- Measurement of screen time among young children aged 0-6 years: A systematic review.Obesity reviews : an official journal of the International Association for the Study of Obesity · 2021Pooled it
- Comparison of Capturing Children's Technology Use Using Wearable Camera and Fixed Room Video: Experimental Laboratory Study.JMIR pediatrics and parenting · 2026Article
- The Relationship Between Temperament, Screen Exposure, and Psychological Adjustment in Preschool Children.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Decoding the Generational Digital Divide: Profiles and Predictors of Grandparents' Attitudes Toward Young Children's Technology Use.Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Screen Time, Child Depression, and Anxiety During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.JMIR pediatrics and parenting · 2026Review
- Prevalence, patterns and parental perceptions of excessive screen time among children aged 2-4 years: A cross-sectional study from a rural setting of Haryana, India.The Indian journal of medical research · 2026Article
- The Effects of Family-Based Programs on Preschool Children's Screen Time: A Systematic Review.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Bidirectional associations between smart device use and body mass index among children aged 3 to 5 years: a longitudinal study.The international journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity · 2026Article
- Parental Influence on Children's Media Use in South Korea: National Population-Based Study.JMIR human factors · 2026Article
- Article
- Measuring screen time among adolescents: test-retest reliability of HBSC questionnaire items across two countries.BMC public health · 2025Article
- Dysregulated Screen Exposure Is Associated With Severity of Language and Communication Impairments in Children With Developmental Disorders.Acta paediatrica (Oslo, Norway : 1992) · 2025Article
- Impact of Screen Time on Language Development and Vocabulary Acquisition in Early Childhood: A Systematic Review.Cureus · 2025Review
- Promoting Healthy Screen Media Use in Young Children With Externalizing Behavior Problems Through an Adapted Parenting Intervention: Results of an Open Trial.Cognitive and behavioral practice · 2025Article
2 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
The impact of screen-based devices on children's health and development cannot be properly understood without valid and reliable tools that measure screen time within the evolving digital landscape. This review aimed to summarize characteristics of measurement tools used to assess screen time in young children; evaluate reporting of psychometric properties; and examine time trends related to measurement and reporting of screen time. A systematic review of articles published in English across three databases from January 2009 to April 2020 was undertaken using PROSPERO protocol (registration: CRD42019132599) and Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. Included articles measured screen time as outcome, exposure, or confounder in children 0-6 years. The search identified 35,868 records, 1035 full-text articles were screened for eligibility, and 622 met inclusion criteria. Most measures (60%) consisted of one to three items and assessed duration of screen time on a usual day. Few measures assessed content (11%) or coviewing (7%). Only 40% of articles provided a citation for the measure, and only 69 (11%) reported psychometric properties-reliability n = 58, validity n = 19, reliability and validity n = 8. Between 2009 and 2019, the number of published articles increased from 28 to 71. From 2015, there was a notable increase in the proportion of articles published each year that assessed exposure to mobile devices in addition to television. The increasing number of published articles reflects increasing interest in screen time exposure among young children. Measures of screen time have generally evolved to reflect children's contemporary digital landscape; however, the psychometric properties of measurement tools are rarely reported. There is a need for improved measures and reporting to capture the complexity of children's screen time exposures.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.