Screen-time and vocabulary development: evidence from the growing up in Ireland study

Abstract

Screen time has long been of interest to psychologists, parents, and those working with young children. The last few decades have seen a considerable amount of research exploring the effects of television viewing on children’s development. However, what “screen time” is has changed since the introduction of touchscreen devices over the last decade. Research indicates that children are becoming proficient at using these devices at a young age. Marsh et al. (2015) found that by 3 years of age, nearly two-thirds of the 2,000 children in their study were able to effectively navigate a tablet, including the ability to turn it on and off, drag and swipe, and open and exit apps. McClure, Chentsova-Dutton, Barr, Holochwost, and Parrott (2015) and Rideout (2011; 2013) also noted the rise in toddlers’ touchscreen use from 10% using touchscreens daily in 2010, to 38% using them daily in 2013. In contrast, daily television viewing decreased in the same time period from 79% of toddlers to 63%. The potential ways in which young children can interact with screens has changed over the last 10 years. Touchscreens allow for increased opportunities for early learning as operational barriers, such as using a mouse or keyboard, are less prevalent (Merchant, 2015). However, the increased range of screen types with which young children can interact (e.g., television, smart phone, tablet), and the increased range of activities (e.g., cartoons, video games, educational games, online video chat) present a challenge to researchers and policy makers hoping to draw on a strong evidence base to inform policy and practice. Previous research examining the impact of screen time on early childhood development, much of which focuses on television viewing, raises questions as to whether or not these findings extend to other types of screens and activities. Therefore, it is important to differentiate between screen time, type, and content when measuring the effect of screen use on children’s development. This distinction may provide a more nuanced classification of screen use, rather than just screen “time”, appropriate to the variety of screen uses young children today engage in. As different elements of screen use are considered separately, their impacts on various aspects of development, such as social interaction, attention, reasoning, and notably language development, can be explored and understood.