[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"doc-seo-139512-105":3,"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":81,"doc-detail-139512-en":130},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"ok",{"site_id":7,"language":8,"slug":9,"title":10,"keywords":11,"description":12,"schema_data":13,"social_meta":74,"head_meta":76,"extra_data":78,"updated_unix":80},105,"en","a-comparative-time-diary-analysis-of-uk-and-us-childrens-screentime-and-device-use","A Comparative Time-Diary Analysis of UK and US Children’s ScreenTime and Device Use","","The paper delivers a comparative analysis of how 8–17-year-old children in the UK and the US used devices (e.g., smartphones and tablets) and how much time they spent in screen-based activities such as watching TV and playing videogames during 2014–15. Using 24-hour diary instruments tailored to capture device use, it shows overlap between device time and both screen and non-screen leisure and non-leisure activities. UK children spend more device time, largely explained by family size and home internet availability, while US children watch TV and play videogames more on non-school days. Results remain significant after controlling for child, parent, and family characteristics.",{"@graph":14,"@context":73},[15,34,56],{"@type":16,"itemListElement":17},"BreadcrumbList",[18,23,27,31],{"item":19,"name":20,"@type":21,"position":22},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",1,{"item":24,"name":25,"@type":21,"position":26},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/","Document",2,{"item":28,"name":29,"@type":21,"position":30},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/research-report/","Research & Report",3,{"item":32,"name":10,"@type":21,"position":33},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/a-comparative-time-diary-analysis-of-uk-and-us-childrens-screentime-and-device-use/139512/",4,{"url":32,"name":10,"@type":35,"image":36,"author":41,"headline":10,"publisher":44,"fileFormat":47,"inLanguage":8,"description":12,"dateModified":48,"datePublished":49,"encodingFormat":47,"isAccessibleForFree":50,"interactionStatistic":51},"DigitalDocument",{"url":37,"@type":38,"width":39,"height":40},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/a-comparative-time-diary-analysis-of-uk-and-us-childrens-screentime-and-device-use/139512.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":42,"@type":43},"Emma Mercer","Person",{"url":19,"name":45,"@type":46},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-10-06","2026-08-24",true,{"@type":52,"interactionType":53,"userInteractionCount":55},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":54},"ViewAction",5,{"@type":57,"mainEntity":58},"FAQPage",[59,65,69],{"name":60,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":62},"What countries and age group does the study compare?","Question",{"text":63,"@type":64},"The study compares UK and US school-age children aged 8–17.","Answer",{"name":66,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":67},"What data and measurement approach does the paper use?",{"text":68,"@type":64},"It uses innovative 24-hour time-diary instruments designed to capture both children’s device use and their screen-based activities.",{"name":70,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":71},"What key cross-national differences does the paper report?",{"text":72,"@type":64},"Children in the UK spend more time using devices, while US children spend less time using computers and, on non-school days, more time watching TV and playing videogames.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":32,"og:type":75,"og:title":10,"og:site_name":45,"og:description":12},"article",{"robots":77,"canonical":32},"index,follow",{"doc_id":79,"site_id":7},139512,1787551564,{"code":4,"msg":82,"data":83},"success",[84,88,92,96,100,105,110,114,119,122,126],{"id":22,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":85,"show_sort_weight":86,"slug":87},"Story & Novel",90,"story-novel",{"id":26,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":89,"show_sort_weight":90,"slug":91},"Literature",80,"literature",{"id":33,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":93,"show_sort_weight":94,"slug":95},"Exam",70,"exam",{"id":55,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":97,"show_sort_weight":98,"slug":99},"Comic",60,"comic",{"id":101,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":102,"show_sort_weight":103,"slug":104},6,"Technology",50,"technology",{"id":106,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":107,"show_sort_weight":108,"slug":109},7,"Healthcare",40,"healthcare",{"id":111,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":29,"show_sort_weight":112,"slug":113},8,30,"research-report",{"id":115,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":116,"show_sort_weight":117,"slug":118},9,"Religion & Spirituality",20,"religion-spirituality",{"id":117,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":120,"show_sort_weight":117,"slug":121},"World Cup","world-cup",{"id":123,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":124,"show_sort_weight":123,"slug":125},10,"Lifestyle","lifestyle",{"id":127,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":128,"show_sort_weight":55,"slug":129},19,"General","general",{"code":4,"msg":82,"data":131},{"doc_id":79,"user_id":132,"nickname":42,"user_avatar":133,"doc_module":4,"category_id":111,"category_name":29,"doc_title":10,"doc_description":12,"doc_content":134,"file_id":135,"file_url":136,"file_type":137,"file_size":138,"view_count":55,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":22,"is_downloadable":22,"audit_status":22,"page_count":139,"language":140,"language_code":8,"site_id":7,"html_lang":8,"table_of_contents":141,"faqs":142,"seo_title":143,"seo_description":12,"update_tm":80,"read_time":98},962084925502,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_6f874abed73319feea01a86fa6f0fab8","A Comparative Time-Diary Analysis of UK and US Children’s ScreenTime and Device Use  \nKillian Mullan1 · Sandra L. Hofferth2  \nAccepted: 12 November 2021 © The Author(s) 2021  \nAbstract  \nThis paper presents the results of a comparative analysis of the time school-age children 8-17 years in the UK and the US spent using devices such as smartphones and tablets, and their time in screen-based activities such as watching TV and playing videogames in 2014-15. The paper draws on innovative instruments measuring children’s time using technology and engaging with screens in these two countries. We find that in both, children’s time using devices overlaps with time in screen-based activities, non-screen leisure, and non-leisure activities. Children in the UK spend more time using devices than children in the US, but family size and the availability of an internet connection at home largely explain major crossnational differences. Children in the US spend less time using computers than children in the UK, and, on non-school days, more time watching TV and playing videogames. These differences remain significant after controlling for a range of child, parent and family-level characteristics. Divergent cross-national patterns for children’s time using relatively new devices and their time in more established screen-based activities are linked to differences in family composition and to differential access.  \nKeywords Children’s time use · screen time · device use · comparative time use · UK · US  \n1 Introduction  \nTechnological change over the past several decades has affected the daily lives of children in many countries across the world. The development and global expansion of powerful internet connectivity (OECD, 2017), alongside ready access to an  \n* Killian Mullan[k.mullan@aston.ac.uk](k.mullan@aston.ac.uk)  \n1 Department of Sociology and Policy, School of Social Sciences and Humanities, Aston University, Aston Triangle, Birmingham B4 7ET, UK  \n2 Maryland Population Research Center, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA  \n1 3  \nincreasing array of digital devices has transformed the ways in which children spend time learning, playing, consuming media, and interacting with others. A large body of research has investigated the ways in which technology has become entwined in children’s everyday lives (Bond, 2014 ; Kennedy & Wellman, 2007; Livingston et al., 2014 ; Thompson et al., 2018; Thulin & Vilhelmson, 2007; Twenge, 2017) . Changing technology has influenced children’s time in screen-based activities. They now spend less time watching TV, more time playing videogames and using computers, as well as more time using smartphones and other devices during non-screen activities such as eating and travelling (Mullan, 2018; Mullan, 2020) . These changes in children’s time spent in screen-based activities and in time using the internet are observed across a wide range of different countries (Bucksch et al., 2016; OECD, 2017) .  \nThere are limits, however, to what is known about the potential influence of technological change on children’s daily time use in different countries. Most prior cross-national research used recall-based measures of time use known tobe unreliable. Without a common 24-hour reference period, it is impossible to combine such measures to unpack the multiple intersecting components of screen time, or reveal how time using technology intersects with time in other (non-screen) activities. As part of a comprehensive analysis of many different aspects of children’s time using 24-hour diary measures, Gracia et al. (2019) led the way in examining cross-national patterns of children’s time use (in the UK, Spain, and Finland), but they analysed only a single measure of total screenbased activities. This obscures a new distinction that has emerged between the device being used (such as the smartphone, TV, tablet, computer) and the type or function of activity engaged in (i.e. , television program, movie, homework, ","cbCaijqD2E9f02MR","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaijqD2E9f02MR","pdf",1247980,24,"English","# Abstract\n# Introduction\n## Research motivation and prior evidence\n## Limits of recall-based time-use measures\n## Diary-based surveys and device-use instruments\n## Research questions","[{\"question\":\"What countries and age group does the study compare?\",\"answer\":\"The study compares UK and US school-age children aged 8–17.\"},{\"question\":\"What data and measurement approach does the paper use?\",\"answer\":\"It uses innovative 24-hour time-diary instruments designed to capture both children’s device use and their screen-based activities.\"},{\"question\":\"What key cross-national differences does the paper report?\",\"answer\":\"Children in the UK spend more time using devices, while US children spend less time using computers and, on non-school days, more time watching TV and playing videogames.\"}]","A Comparative Time-Diary Analysis of UK and US Children’s ScreenTime and Device Use | PDF"]