SynthesisGlobal health research and policy2023
Screen time among school-aged children of aged 6-14: a systematic review.
Synthesis in Global health research and policy, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 68 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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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.
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Who cites it
68 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- The impact of physical activity on children's attention and math performance: A meta-analysis.European journal of pediatrics · 2026Pooled it
- Digital media exposure and pediatric health: the recommendations from the Italian Society of Pediatrics Digital Dependency Commission.Italian journal of pediatrics · 2026Guideline
- Digital Devices Use and Sleep in Adolescents: An Umbrella Review.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2025Pooled it
- Review Article: The effectiveness of school-based interventions for reducing screen time - a systematic review and meta-analysis.Child and adolescent mental health · 2025Pooled it
- Screen Time Among and Youth Children With Disabilities: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Child: care, health and development · 2025Pooled it
- Developing and Evaluating Guidelines to Prevent Overdependence on Digital Therapeutics in Children and Adolescents: Randomized Controlled Trial.Journal of medical Internet research · 2025Trial
- Dose-response association between different screen time behaviors and cardiorespiratory fitness among elementary and junior high school students: A population-based cross-sectional study in a Japanese city.Journal of exercise science and fitness · 2026Article
- Mediating role of sleep duration in the association between problematic media use and sleep disturbance in children with neurodevelopmental disabilities.Irish journal of medical science · 2026Article
- The relationship between problematic media use and their fear, anxiety and behavior during dental treatment in children.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Social Media as a Driver of Obesity in Children and Adolescents (Aged 6-18 Years): It Is Time for Regulatory Action.Journal of medical Internet research · 2026Article
- Health literacy and screen use among 13-year-old students in Norway - A cross-sectional study.Scandinavian journal of public health · 2026Article
- Preliminary Impacts of a 3-Month School-Based Exercise and Data Recording Intervention on Lifestyle Habits, Psychological Health, and Physical Health in Japanese Adolescents.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Long-term association between the COVID-19 pandemic and language development at 3 years of age.Pediatric research · 2026Article
- Lifestyle behaviors from early childhood to junior high school in rural Japan: a cross-sectional study.BMC public health · 2026Article
- Article
- Digital Exposure and Skin Health in Children and Adolescents: A State-of-the-Art Review.Cureus · 2026Review
- Nutritional status and behaviour difficulties among adolescent girls in a rural area of Ludhiana - A cross-sectional study.Journal of family medicine and primary care · 2026Article
- Screen exposure in early childhood and maternal behaviors: a cross-sectional study from Turkey.Irish journal of medical science · 2026Article
- Screen Time and Social Development Through Play in Early Childhood: A Cross-Sectional Study.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- From screens to snacks: social media exposure and food consumption triggers among overweight and obese adolescents - evidence from a cross-sectional, mixed-methods approach.BMC public health · 2026Article
8 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.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundScreen time refers to the time an individual spends using electronic or digital media devices such as televisions, smart phones, tablets or computers. The purpose of this study was to conduct systematic review to analyze the relevant studies on the length and use of screen time of school-aged children, in order to provide scientific basis for designing screen time interventions and perfecting the screen use guidelines for school-aged children.
methodsScreen time related studies were searched on PubMed, EMBASE, Clinical Trials, Controlled Trials, The WHO International Clinical Trials Registry Platform, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, CNKI, and Whipple Journal databases from January 1, 2016 to October 31, 2021. Two researchers independently screened the literature and extracted the data, and adopted a qualitative analysis method to evaluate the research status of the length and usage of screen time of school-aged students.
resultsFifty-three articles were included. Sixteen articles studied screen time length in the form of continuous variables. Thirty-seven articles studied screen time in the form of grouped variables. The average screen time of schoolchildren aged 6 to 14 was 2.77 h per day, and 46.4% of them had an average screen time ≥ 2 h per day. A growth trend could be roughly seen by comparing studies in the same countries and regions before and after the COVID-19 outbreak. The average rates of school-aged children who had screen time within the range of ≥ 2 h per day, were 41.3% and 59.4% respectively before and after January 2020. The main types of screen time before January 2020 were watching TV (20 literatures), using computers (16 literature), using mobile phones/tablets (4 literatures). The mainly uses of screens before January 2020 were entertainment (15 literatures), learning (5 literatures) and socializing (3 literatures). The types and mainly uses of screen time after January 2020 remained the same as the results before January 2020.
conclusionsExcessive screen time has become a common behavior among children and adolescents around the world. Intervention measures to control children's screen use should be explored in combination with different uses to reduce the proportion of non-essential uses.
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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.