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Abstract
This research has two objectives: 1) examine the average daily time of screen-based activities (SBAs), the most used devices, types of SBAs, and reasons for SBAs use in children; and 2) examine differences in these aspects of SBAs regarding the age of children in Croatia during the COVID-19 pandemic. The data came from 60 children's paper-and-pencil media diaries. Children on average spend more time during the day in SBAs than recommended by the literature (up to 1.5 or 2 hours). Older children spend more time in SBAs compared to younger children during the workweek. The most popular devices among children were TVs and smartphones, regardless of age. The most frequent types of children's SBAs were watching content and playing, but watching was more prevalent among younger children and playing among older children during the workweek. The most common reason for SBAs was to have fun, regardless of the children's age. All conclusions mainly apply to children from middle- to upper-socioeconomic-class families and the specific period of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Keywords: children; screen-based activity; well-being; media diary; qualitative research
Introduction
Everyday advancement and the extent of access and availability of digital technology (DT)1 in children's homes, along with the increasing miniaturization of devices and the capability to use more of them simultaneously, shape and make it harder to measure everyday children's screen-based activities (SBAs). Literature shows problematic and excessive SBAs are associated with different negative outcomes (e.g., higher body weight, lower school grades, lower self- esteem, and symptoms of anxiety) and lower well-being in children (e.g, Chassiakos et al., 2016; Hurwitz & Schmitt, 2020; Kardefelt-Winther, 2017; Perić et al., 2022; Valkenburg et al., 2021). Researchers are trying to understand the ways SBAs affect children's development and well-being, but first, they need to examine and measure different aspects of children's SBAs (e.g., time and types of SBAs, reasons for SBAs). This constitutes a challenge, mainly due to rapid changes in DT.
In the literature, several approaches for measuring children's SBAs are described, and diaries are one of them but a rarely used technique (e.g., Rich et al., 2015; Vandewater & Lee, 2009). Media diaries (or "media logs" or "viewing logs") are a modified form of a time-use diary focused on a particular activity, namely, media...