Nationwide Trends in Screen Time and Associated Risk Factors by Family Structures Among Adolescents, 2008-2022: Nationwide Cross-Sectional Study.

Abstract

Background: Although understanding long-term trends in adolescent screen time and the influence of family structure is essential, there is a lack of research addressing these issues comprehensively.

Objective: This study aimed to conduct comprehensive investigations into adolescent screen time before and during the COVID-19 pandemic, with a particular focus on family structures.

Methods: This study used nationwide, large-scale data from the Korea Youth Risk Behavior Web-Based Survey from South Korea. We aimed to indicate the changes in adolescent screen time over 15 years from 2008 to 2022. Weighted linear regression was used to analyze annual trends in screen time before and during the pandemic, and stratified analyses were conducted to examine associated risk factors across different family structures.

Results: This study used data from a total of 836,972 individuals (n=403,456, 48.2% women), with an age range of 12-18 years. The analysis revealed an overall increase in screen time prepandemic (β=8.06, 95% CI 7.74-8.39), with a notable increase observed at the onset of the pandemic (β=162.06, 95% CI 159.49-164.64). Among diverse family structures, the orphanage group showed the most substantial increase in screen time during the pandemic (β_diff=221.90, 95% CI 159.62-284.17). Risk factors associated with screen time during the pandemic varied by family structure. Notably, the nuclear family group presented distinct screen time-related risk factors, including grade, region of residence, physical activity frequency, sadness and despair, and the highest education level of parents.

Conclusions: There has been a notable increase in average screen time among adolescents since the onset of the pandemic, with the orphanage group exhibiting a pronounced trend. The risk factors associated with screen time during the pandemic varied for each family structure. Findings from this study suggest that the implementation of individualized measures tailored to each family structure should be adopted to effectively address the increased issue of adolescent screen time since the pandemic.