Types of Adolescent Screen Use and Positive Wellbeing: Gender and Parental Education Influences

Research has contradictory findings because of different definitions of screen time, measures of wellbeing, and the examination of different groups of teenagers. This study distinguishes four types of screen activity using time diaries of UK adolescents: social screen time, internet browsing, playing e-games and video viewing, and examines their associations with adolescents' happiness in six domains, by gender and parental education. Any form of screen time is associated with lower happiness with looks, but worst for the former two activities. These activities are also associated with lower happiness in other domains, and excessive use equate to worse wellbeing. More screen time is worse for girls' happiness with their looks than boys, and parental education is not a protective factor.