The association between electronic media use and quality of life (QoL) in Norwegian adolescents

Abstract Background The use of screens, especially mobile devices like tablets and smartphones have increased over the last years and have become an integrated part of modern life. Adolescents today spend a lot of their time using screens both at school and outside school. Identifying how screen use are related to QoL is necessary to plan effective policies and interventions in adolescence since it is the period where different behaviours are adopted. The purpose of this study is to examine the association between electronic media use and quality of life (QoL) among adolescents. Methods This study was based on self-reported cross-sectional data from the Young-Hunt4 study, conducted in 2017-2019. The target group comprised 8066 13-19 years old adolescents. QoL was measured with the Norwegian version of the Inventory of Life Quality (ILC). The ILC scale consists of seven items with four response alternatives. Electronic media use was measured using the two variables Social media use and Gaming. Multiple linear regression was used to analyse the association between gaming, social media use and QoL. Results Preliminary results showed an inverse association between gaming (>3 hours per day) after school and quality of life (β: -.07, p < 0.001) and social media use (>3 hours per day) after school and quality of life (β = -.06, p < 0.001). Similar inverse associations were observed between gaming (>3 hours per day) in the weekend and quality of life (β: -.09, p < 0.001) and social media use (>3 hours per day) in the weekend and quality of life (β = -.04, p = 0.002). These associations remained significant after controlling for gender, age, family economy, psychological distress and having friends. Conclusions More than three hours on screens per day after school was negatively associated with QoL. Hence, public health policy and practice should pay attention to consequences of screen time use in adolescence. Additional research is needed to further explore these associations. Key messages • More frequent use of electronic media is negatively associated with QoL. • Public health policy and practice should pay attention to screen time in adolescence and its association with QoL.