Children’s Screen Time Study Gains $220,000 Boost

A new research project will explore whether children’s use of digital devices influences their behaviour growing up.

Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha | University of Canterbury (UC) Senior Lecturer Dr Megan Gath has received one of two prestigious Canterbury Medical Research Foundation (CMRF) Emerging Researcher Fellowships (ERF) for 2024. The fellowship supports outstanding, early career health researchers in the Waitaha Canterbury region.

Dr Gath will lead a research project examining the long-term impact of screen media use on children’s wellbeing, social and behavioural adjustment, and the ability to form positive peer relationships.

Data will be sourced from the Growing Up in New Zealand study which includes a large sample of youth spanning over 15 years.

“During that time, we have seen dramatic changes to the way that childhood is experienced,” Dr Gath says.“Given the prevalence of screen media use in the lives of children, it is critical that we understand the impacts on their development.”

These rapid changes at a societal level are predicted to impact children's mental and physical wellbeing across the rest of their lifespan, according to the researcher.

Dr Gath, from UC’s Child Well-being Research Institute, says the research will be helpful for parents who “experience a lot of uncertainty around how much screen time is okay, and what they should be allowing their children to do online,” and will help them make informed decisions around how children can use digital devices in a healthy way.

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