Adolescent screen use trajectories and daily psychosocial functioning in emerging adulthood: a multi-timeframe design

Adolescent screen use is heterogeneous, varying across dimensions such as activity type, time spent, purpose, and content exposure, with patterns that may persist or shift over time. However, little is known about how such heterogeneity relates to later psychosocial functioning in everyday life. Using combined longitudinal cohort and ecological momentary assessment (EMA) data, this study examined trajectories of screen time (computer gaming, internet surfing/chatting, TV/DVD viewing) and media content exposure (pornography, horror, violence-related material) across adolescence and their associations with day-to-day psychosocial functioning in emerging adulthood. Data were drawn from the longitudinal cohort z-proso, and its add-on two-burst EMA study (D2M), using convenience subsamples of z-proso. Joint trajectories of screen activities (ages 11,13,15,17) and content types (ages 13,15,17,20) were modelled in z-proso (analytic sample n = 1521). Daily psychosocial functioning was assessed in the D2M at ages 21 (n = 255) and 27 (n = 451), defined according to levels, inertia, variability, and cross-lagged relations between EMA-measured experiences. Based on trajectory groups identified, dynamic structural equation modelling showed that the high TV/DVD and chatting/surfing, moderate-content group exhibited higher daily aggression levels and variability, and aggressive reactivity. The high gaming, high-content group displayed greater cannabis use, aggressive reactivity, and provocation inertia. The moderate-use, escalating-content group showed higher stress variability, aggression inertia, aggressive reactivity, and cannabis use. The low-use, low-content group displayed the most adaptive daily functioning. These findings underscore the importance of jointly considering adolescent screen time and media content patterns, given the distinct relations of different joint trajectories to (mal-)adaptive dimensions of psychosocial functioning into adulthood. • Examined adolescent screen-use trajectories and adulthood daily functioning. • Identified four distinct joint trajectories of screen time and media content use. • Different trajectories showed distinct links to (mal)adaptive daily functioning. • Low-use, low-content group displayed more adaptive daily psychosocial functioning.