Table 3.
Changes in screen time from before to during the lockdown
| Study | Reported outcome | ||||||
| Measurement tool | Indicator | Before lockdown (Mean (SD)) |
During lockdown (Mean (SD)) |
During lockdown (vs before lockdown) | P value | ||
| Aguilar-Farias et al, 2020, Chile39 | Adapted from the questions included in the International Study of Movement Behaviours in the Early Years (SUNRISE), pilot-tested | Recreational screen time (hours/day) | 1.66 (1.15) | 3.05 (1.92) | <0.001 | ||
| Brzek et al, 2021, Poland43 | Questionnaire related to the use of electronic devices before and during the COVID-19 restrictions | Average time spent on electronic devices (minutes/week) | 940.9 | 1517.8 | <0.001 | ||
| Çakıroğlu et al, 2021, Turkey105 | Turkish adapted version of Internet Gaming Disorder Questionnaire (IGDQ) | Weekly hours spent playing digital games | 10.67 (10.37) | 16.15 (13.07) | <0.001 | ||
| Cardy et al, 2021, Canada86 | Adapted from existing instruments(Questionnaire developed by Moore et al, CoRonavIruS Health Impact Survey (CRISIS) Adapted for Autism and Related Neurodevelopmental conditions (AFAR)) | Daily screen time (hours) | ASD Group (Weekdays) | 3.30 (2.92, 3.63) | 6.90 (6.49, 7.21) | <0.001 | |
| ASD Group (Weekends) | 4.90 (4.55, 5.27) | 6.30 (5.91, 6.63) | <0.001 | ||||
| Carrillo-Diaz et al, 2021, Spain87 | CERM (Questionnaire of Experiences Related to Cell Phones) | Use of mobile phone (CERM Score, range: 10–40, higher score indicates higher use) | 18.40 (7.00) | 22.10 (8.60) | <0.01 | ||
| Censi et al, 2021, Italy44 | Eating Behaviours Physical Activity and Lifestyle-COVID-19 (EBPAL-COVID-19) questionnaire | % Reporting their children spent more time (a little or a lot) in front of TV or on a smartphone/tablet | 90.9% | ||||
| Chakraborty et al, 2021, India69 | Self-designed questionnaire (reviewed by independent psychiatrists and clinical psychologists and pre-tested) | % Reporting their child engages in mobile phone more during lockdown | 63.4% | ||||
| % Reporting their child engages in watching television more during lockdown | 58.1% | ||||||
| Chambonniere et al, 2021, France46 | Questionnaires developed based on the IPAQ and ONAPS-Q questionnaires in adults and Youth Risk Behaviour Surveillance System (YRBSS) investigation in children and adolescents | % Reporting increased screen time | |||||
| Children | 62.0% | ||||||
| Adolescents | 68.9% | ||||||
| Cheng et al, 2021, Malaysia88 | Not reported | Screen time (hours/day) | |||||
| Type 1 diabetes, male | 2.00 (1.00–3.00) |
5.50 (4.00–7.75) |
0.001 | ||||
| Type 1 diabetes, female | 1.00 (1.00–3.00) |
5.00 (3.00–7.00) |
<0.001 | ||||
| Type 2 diabetes, male | 3.05 (1.71) | 5.90 (3.25) | 0.001 | ||||
| Type 2 diabetes, female | 1.81 (1.50) | 5.21 (3.57) | <0.001 | ||||
| Clarke et al, 2021, UK47 | Topic guide for in-depth interviews to get insights into the perceived impact of lockdown restrictions on preschool children’s physical activity, sedentary behaviour, food intake and sleep | Children’s screen time | Most parents reported an increase | ||||
| Eyler et al, 2021, USA62 | Interview guide to assess parents’ perceptions of their child’s PA and screen time during COVID-19 stay-at-home orders (pilot-tested) | Parents’ perception about change in their children’s screen time from before to during lockdown | Increased | ||||
| Garcia et al, 2021, USA91 | Adapted from the National Survey of Children’s Health | Screen time in weekdays (hours/day) | 3.69 (2.66) | 6.25 (4.24) | 0.007 | ||
| Screen time in weekends (hours/day) | 5.94 (3.58) | 7.39 (3.93) | 0.004 | ||||
| Guo et al, 2021, China49 | Changes in screen time assessed with the question, ‘Compare with the 3 months before the outbreak of COVID-19, is there any difference in the daily time you (or your child) spend in using screen-based media (ie, cell phone, computer, or pad)?’ | % Reporting increased screen time | 76.9% | ||||
| Kołota and Głąbska, 2021, Poland63 | Short-Form Survey Instruments for Children’s Diet, Physical Activity and Sedentary Behaviour | % Watching television for ≥2 hours per day | 78.3% | 88.4% | <0.001 | ||
| Lim et al, 2020, Singapore50 | Questionnaire which included information on recreational screen time | Non-academic screen time (hours/day) | 1.61 (1.17) | 3.15 (2.19) | |||
| López-Bueno et al, 2020, Spain3 | Screen exposure assessed with the question, ‘How many hours is your child usually exposed to screens such as TV, cell phone, and tablet daily?’ | Screen exposure (hours/day) | 2.00 (1.60) | 4.90 (2.30) | <0.001 | ||
| Łuszczki et al, 2021, Poland51 | Questionnaire related to the use of technical devices and the internet by children | Time spent watching movies or programmes on the internet or TV (hours/day) | |||||
| Weekdays | 2.12 (1.00) | 2.34 (1.12) | 0.032 | ||||
| Weekend | 2.81 (1.04) | 2.70 (1.10) | 0.028 | ||||
| Masi et al, 2021, Australia92 | Questionnaire developed by the investigators and pilot tested with clinicians, researchers and a small group of parents | % Reporting their children were watching more television or using digital media during lockdown | 81.6% | ||||
| Medrano et al, 2021, Spain52 | ‘The Youth Activity Profile’ questionnaire (YAP) | Screen time (hours/day) | 4.30 (2.40) | 6.10 (2.40) | <0.001 | ||
| Mitra et al, 2020, Canada53 | Secondary data (parents reported time spent on various movement behaviours) | % Reporting increased screen time during lockdown compared with before the lockdown | 78.8% | ||||
| Monteiro et al, 2021, Portugal106 | Questionnaire on parents’ perceptions about increased exposure to screens during the lockdown on a five-point Likert-type scale (from ‘1— strongly disagree’ to ‘5—totally agree) | % Who agreed increase in exposure time to TV during lockdown compared with before the lockdown | 71.0% | ||||
| Moore et al, 2020, Canada27 | Secondary data (change in child’s movement and play behaviours), test–retest (1 week) reliability assessed | Change in watching television or screens from before to during the lockdown (range: 1–5, 3=no change) | Children: 4.10 (0.87) | ||||
| Youth: 4.21 (0.92) | |||||||
| Morgül et al, 2020, UK54 | Family daily routines and children’s emotional and behavioural symptoms questionnaire developed by Orgilés et al | % Using screen >2 hours | 43.0% | 58.4% | |||
| Munasinghe et al, 2020, Australia55 | Adolescent Sedentary Activities Questions (baseline) Ecological momentary assessment (EMA) (follow-up) |
Change in screen time (smartphone screen state) from before to during the lockdown | Increased | ||||
| Nathan et al, 2021, Australia20 | Parents reported total weekly time spent in screen-based leisure activities | Leisure screen time (minutes/week) | 794.2 (565.5) | 1194.2 (843.5) | <0.001 | ||
| Oflu et al, 2021, Turkey107 | Questions on daily leisure screen time and compliance with the rules set for screen time | % With daily screen time ≥1 hour | 57.7% | 88.9% | <0.001 | ||
| % Complying with the limitation for screen time | 88.4% | 71.2% | <0.001 | ||||
| Okely et al, 2021, Multi-country26 | Questionnaire developed by the researchers based on the recommendations for each behaviour guideline, tested, and refined as part of SUNRISE pilot study | Sedentary screen time (minutes/day) | 105.3 (3.6) | 162.0 (4.2) | 54.9 (38.6, 71.2)* | <0.001* | |
| Ozturk Eyimaya and Yalçin Irmak, 2021, Turkey68 | Questionnaire, which included a question on leisure screen time | % Reporting children’s increased screen time (except time spent on academic activities) | 71.7% | ||||
| Pietrobelli et al, 2020, Italy94 | Questionnaire which included question on leisure screen time | Screen time (hours/day) | 2.76 (1.64) | 7.61 (2.13) | <0.001 | ||
| Pombo et al, 2021, Portugal56 | Questionnaire developed by the researchers, questions validated by child development experts and pilot tested | % Spending more or much more time on screen during lockdown | 71.3% | ||||
| Sá et al, 2021, Brazil58 | Questionnaire created by the research team, elaborated by experts in the field, and tested | % Spending more or much more time on screen (playful screen time) during lockdown compared with before the lockdown | 74.8% | ||||
| Saxena et al, 2021, India108 | Questions on the duration of digital device use and duration of watching TV | Time spent using digital devices (hours/week) | 6.20 | 19.80 | <0.001 | ||
| Time spent watching TV (hours/week) | 12.20 | 13.40 | <0.001 | ||||
| Schmidt et al, 2020, Germany19 | The MoMo PA questionnaire | Total recreational screen time (minutes/day) | 133.3 (123.1) | 194.5 (141.3) | <0.01 | ||
| Screen time guideline adherence (%) | 60.9% | 37.6% | <0.01 | ||||
| Sciberras et al, 2020, Australia95 | CoRonavIruS Health Impact Survey | TV time (OR) | 1.00 | 4.00 (2.50, 6.50) | |||
| Serra et al, 2021, Italy67 | Test conceived and made by paediatricians | % Using smartphone ≥4 hours/day | 16.3% | 66.3% | |||
| ten Velde et al, 2021, Netherlands64 | Questionnaire, which included questions on hours of leisure screen time per day on a weekday and a weekend day | Weekday screen time (minutes/day) | Cohort A: 132.0 (109.0) | Cohort A: 164.0 (123.0) | Cohort A:<0.01 | ||
| Cohort B: 181.0 (118.0) |
Cohort B: 240.0 (118.0) |
Cohort B:<0.01 | |||||
| Weekend Screen time (minutes/day) | Cohort A: 215.0 (141.0) | Cohort A: 232.0 (150.0) | Cohort A: 0.55 | ||||
| Cohort B: 197.0 (131.0) |
Cohort B: 260.0 (126.0) |
Cohort B:<0.01 | |||||
| Tso et al, 2020, Hong Kong109 | Questionnaire developed by the research team with input from experts, pilot-tested | Weekday time spent on electronic devices (hours/day) | 1.32 (1.43) | 2.31 (1.76) | |||
| Werling et al, 2021, Switzerland97 | Adapted version of "Problematic Use of the Internet-Screening Questionnaire for Children and Adolescents (PUI-SQ) | Total media time (hours/day) | 3.89 | 6.76 | <0.001 | ||
| Werling et al, 2021, Switzerland98 | Adapted version of PUI-SQ | Total media time (hours/day), male | 4.47 (3.21) | 7.51 (4.85) | <0.001 | ||
| Total media time (hours/day), female | 4.77 (3.08) | 7.12 (3.87) | <0.001 | ||||
| Yang et al, 2020, China66 | International Physical Activity Questionnaire-long form | Median screen time (hours/day) | 4.00 | 5.00 | <0.001 | ||
*Adjusted.
ASD, autism spectrum disorder; PA, physical activity; TV, television.