Only So Many Hours in a Day: Early Childhood Screen Time in Boston and Mexico City

Authors

  • Lisa B. Hurwitz Center on Media and Child Health, Boston Children’s Hospital, Boston, MA & Harvard Medical School
  • David S. Bickham Center on Media and Child Health, Boston Children’s Hospital, Boston, MA & Harvard Medical School
  • Summer H. Moukalled Center on Media and Child Health, Boston Children’s Hospital, Boston, MA
  • Michael Rich Center on Media and Child Health, Boston Children’s Hospital, Boston, MA, Harvard Medical School, & Harvard School of Public Health

Keywords:

time use, early childhood, displacement hypothesis, screen time, international research

Abstract

According to the displacement hypothesis, screen media use might displace time children have to devote to other activities. In this study, we tested the displacement and related hypotheses, and explored how associations varied cross-culturally. We collected time-use diaries from 198 children in Boston, United States (U.S.), and Mexico City, Mexico. Comparing across research sites, children in Mexico City invested more time consuming media, while Boston children spent more time playing outdoors. In Boston, time spent using media was negatively associated with engagement in play and several other in-home activities, while in Mexico City, media use was positively associated with indoor activities like play. In both sites, media use and time spent outside were inversely related. We interpret these findings considering (a) the displacement and other competing hypotheses on the effects of media on children’s time use and (b) known cultural/regional differences between the U.S. and Mexico. 

Author Biographies

Lisa B. Hurwitz, Center on Media and Child Health, Boston Children’s Hospital, Boston, MA & Harvard Medical School

Lisa B. Hurwitz, PhD received her Doctorate from Northwestern University. While working on this project, she was a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Center on Media and Child Health at Boston Children’s Hospital and a Research Fellow in Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School. She is currently a Lead Researcher at Lexia Learning Systems LLC, a Rosetta Stone company. 

David S. Bickham, Center on Media and Child Health, Boston Children’s Hospital, Boston, MA & Harvard Medical School

David S. Bickham, PhD received his Doctorate from the University of Texas at Austin. He is currently a Research Scientist at the Center on Media and Child Health, and an Instructor of Pediatrics with appointments at Boston Children’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School.

Summer H. Moukalled, Center on Media and Child Health, Boston Children’s Hospital, Boston, MA

Summer H. Moukalled, BS/BA received her Bachelor’s degree from the University of Massachusetts Amherst. She is currently working as a Clinical Research Specialist at the Center on Media and Child Health.

Michael Rich, Center on Media and Child Health, Boston Children’s Hospital, Boston, MA, Harvard Medical School, & Harvard School of Public Health

Michael Rich, MD, MPH, FAAP, FSAHM received his Master’s in Public Health from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and his Doctor of Medicine from Harvard Medical School. He is the Founder and Director of the Center on Media and Child Health and of the Clinic for Interactive Media and Internet Disorders, Associate Professor of Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School, and Associate Professor of Social and Behavioral Sciences at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. He practices Adolescent Medicine at Boston Children’s Hospital.

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Published

2020-07-15

Issue

Vol. 14 (2020)

Section

Articles

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