Pediatrics · Public Health ·
Umbrella Review Finds Inconsistent Correlates of Children’s Digital Technology Use
An umbrella review of 108 systematic reviews, covering more than 14 million participants, examined factors associated with children’s digital technology use. Most reported relationships were inconsistent, and the authors highlighted limitations in how technology use and associations have been studied.
- Umbrella review included 108 systematic reviews.
- Evidence covered more than 14 million participants.
- More than half of correlates had inconsistent findings.
- Authors cite weak measurement and causal assumptions.
Researchers conducted an umbrella review of systematic reviews examining demographic, health, lifestyle, social, cultural and physical-environmental factors associated with digital technology use among children and adolescents. Searches across nine databases and PROSPERO covered records from inception to June 2023. The 108 included reviews comprised 3,268 individual studies and more than 14 million participants; most studies measured time spent using digital technology.
Across 64 correlates, 18 (28.1%) had evidence of a positive association with technology use and two (3.1%) a negative association. Nine correlates (14.1%) showed evidence of no association, while 35 (54.7%) had inconsistent findings.
The authors say the evidence does not support a clear, consistent profile of factors associated with children’s technology use. They also identify recurring limitations, including assumptions that associations are causal, weak measures of technology use and treating statistical significance as equivalent to practical importance. The findings synthesize existing review evidence rather than test interventions or establish causal effects, and the authors call for higher-quality research to better inform practitioners and families.
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BMC Public Health: Factors associated with children’s use of digital technology: an umbrella review ↗This is an automated AI-condensed summary that has not yet been reviewed by an editor. Always consult the full item at the original source.