Centre for Exercise, Nutrition & Health Sciences, School for Policy Studies, University of Bristol, Bristol, BS8 1TZ, United Kingdom.
Population Health Sciences, Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol, Bristol, BS8 2PS, United Kingdom.
BMC Public Health. 2023 Jan 17;23(1):116. doi: 10.1186/s12889-023-14976-6.
Restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic have led to increased screen-viewing among children, especially during strict periods of lockdown. However, the extent to which screen-viewing patterns in UK school children have changed post lockdowns is unclear. The aim of this paper is to examine how screen-viewing changed in 10-11-year-old children over the 2020-21 COVID-19 pandemic, how this compares to before the pandemic, and the influences on screen-viewing behaviour.
This is a mixed methods study with 10-11-year-olds from 50 schools in the Greater Bristol area, UK. Cross-sectional questionnaire data on minutes of weekday and weekend television (TV) viewing and total leisure screen-viewing were collected pre-COVID-19 in 2017-18 (N = 1,296) and again post-lockdowns in 2021 (N = 393). Data were modelled using Poisson mixed models, adjusted for age, gender, household education and seasonality, with interactions by gender and household education. Qualitative data were drawn from six focus groups (47 children) and 21 one-to-one parent interviews that explored screen-viewing behaviour during the pandemic and analysed using the framework method.
Total leisure screen-viewing was 11% (95% CI: 12%-18%) higher post-lockdown compared to pre-COVID-19 on weekdays, and 8% (95% CI: 6%-10%) on weekends, equating to around 12-15 min. TV-viewing (including streaming) was higher by 68% (95% CI: 63%-74%) on weekdays and 80% (95% CI: 75%-85%) on weekend days. Differences in both were higher for girls and children from households with lower educational attainment. Qualitative themes reflected an unavoidable increase in screen-based activities during lockdowns, the resulting habitualisation of screen-viewing post-lockdown, and the role of the parent in reducing post-2020/21 lockdown screen-viewing.
Although screen-viewing was higher post-lockdown compared to pre-COVID-19, the high increases reported during lockdowns were not, on average, sustained post-lockdown. This may be attributed to a combination of short-term fluctuations during periods of strict restrictions, parental support in regulating post-lockdown behaviour and age-related, rather than COVID-19-specific, increases in screen-viewing. However, socio-economic differences in our sample suggest that not all families were able to break the COVID-19-related adoption of screen-viewing, and that some groups may need additional support in managing a healthy balance of screen-viewing and other activities following the lockdowns.
在 COVID-19 大流行期间，儿童的屏幕观看时间有所增加，尤其是在严格封锁期间。然而，尚不清楚英国学童的屏幕观看模式在封锁后发生了怎样的变化。本文旨在研究 10-11 岁儿童在 2020-21 年 COVID-19 大流行期间的屏幕观看时间如何变化，与大流行前相比如何，以及对屏幕观看行为的影响。
这是一项混合方法研究，在英国大布里斯托尔地区的 50 所学校招募了 10-11 岁的儿童。在 2017-18 年（n=1296）和 2021 年（n=393）封锁后，使用横断面问卷调查了工作日和周末电视（TV）观看时间和总休闲屏幕观看时间。使用泊松混合模型进行数据建模，调整了年龄、性别、家庭教育和季节性因素，并按性别和家庭教育进行了交互作用分析。从六个焦点小组（47 名儿童）和 21 个一对一的家长访谈中提取了定性数据，探讨了大流行期间的屏幕观看行为，并使用框架方法进行了分析。
与 COVID-19 大流行前相比，封锁后工作日的总休闲屏幕观看时间增加了 11%（95%CI：12%-18%），周末增加了 8%（95%CI：6%-10%），相当于增加了 12-15 分钟。工作日 TV 观看（包括流媒体）增加了 68%（95%CI：63%-74%），周末增加了 80%（95%CI：75%-85%）。这些差异在女孩和来自低教育程度家庭的儿童中更高。定性主题反映了封锁期间屏幕活动不可避免的增加，封锁后屏幕观看习惯化，以及父母在减少 2020/21 年后封锁后屏幕观看方面的作用。
尽管与 COVID-19 大流行前相比，封锁后屏幕观看时间更高，但报告的高增长率在封锁后并未持续。这可能归因于严格限制期间的短期波动、父母对封锁后行为的支持以及与年龄相关的、而非 COVID-19 特异性的屏幕观看时间增加。然而，我们样本中的社会经济差异表明，并非所有家庭都能够打破与 COVID-19 相关的屏幕观看习惯，一些群体可能需要额外的支持，以在封锁后管理屏幕观看和其他活动的健康平衡。
