Higher screen time linked to lower math, reading scores in study of thousands of Ontario students

An 11-year-old boy plays with his father's phone outside school in Barcelona, Spain, Monday, June 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

Higher screen time has been linked to lower academic performance in a new study of thousands of Ontario students.

Over a period of 15 years from 2008 to 2023, the study tracked parent-reported screen time for 3,322 children, then compared that with their scores on standardized tests in grades three and six. Researchers ultimately found that more screen time before the age of eight was associated with consistently lower performance in both reading and math.

“Screen time is a part of everyday life for most families, and high levels of exposure, particularly to TV and digital media, may have a measurable impact on children’s academic outcomes,” senior author and Hospital for Sick Children staff pediatrician by Dr. Catherine Birken said in a news release. “This underscores the importance of developing early interventions for young children and their families that promote healthy screen habits.”

In the study, grade three students had an average of 1.6 hours of daily screentime, while those in grade six spent an average of 1.8 hours a day in front of screens. Every additional hour of daily screen time was associated with nine to 10 per cent lower odds of achieving a high level in reading and math.

When it came to video game use, female students were more likely to experience lower academic scores than male students. Screen time did not appear to have any impact on writing achievement.

The study was conducted as a joint effort between the collaborative research network TARGet Kids! and Ontario’s Education Quality and Accountability Office (EQAO), which administers the province’s standardized tests.

“This research offers important insights into how early childhood experiences — like screen time —can influence academic achievement,” said Jennifer Hove, the EQAO’s director of data and reporting. “By linking health data with EQAO’s standardized assessments, we’re deepening our understanding of the factors that shape student outcomes and helping educators, families, and policymakers make informed decisions to support student success.”

The study is one of the first long-term investigations to compare early childhood screentime with academic achievement in elementary school. It was published Friday in the American Medical Association’s JAMA Network Open journal. Screen time included time spent on the computer, playing video games, watching TV and DVDs and with handheld devices like smartphones and tablets.

“High levels of screen time may alter children’s brain structure, affecting cognitive functions and impairing the acquisition of memories and learning,” the study explained. “Our findings underscore the importance of developing and testing targeted early guidelines and interventions to reduce screen time and TV and digital media exposure, with the goal of improving academic achievement in elementary school.”

The researchers now want to examine how different types of screen time and content may influence educational outcomes while also looking at other measures like report cards and attendance.

“While current screen time guidelines continue to recommend daily limits, they increasingly emphasize the importance of media quality and the context in which screens are used,” the study concluded. “This underscores the need to examine not only the duration of screen time, but also its content and context, such as the quality of content, school-based screen use, and the degree of family involvement.”