The Influence of Screen Time on School Performance of Children aged 7-10 Years – A Cross-Sectional Survey

Objective: To study the impact of screen time on school performance in children of 7-10 years of age. Study Design: Cross-sectional Comparative survey. Place & Duration of Study: Two schools, one Government School and one private sector school, Islamabad Pakistan from Nov 2024 to Jan 2025. Methodology: Total 308 school going children of 7-10 years of age meeting the inclusion criteria rom two schools were included in the study. Data was collected from their parents and teachers on the parents-day meeting as per designed proforma based on Child Occupational Self-Assessment (COSA). Fine motor and visuospatial skills were also assessed and compared with daily average screen time. Results: A total of 310 children were included having median age of 8.00(2.00) years with 178(57.4%) boys and 131(42.3%) girls. The median daily screen time reported by parents was 4.00 (2.00) hours. The class grades in academics, attitude and class participation of children were found to vary with average daily screen time (p<0.0001). The sleep hours were also associated with the attitude in the class (p=-0.644, p<0.0001). Solving time for peg board pattern was 118.50(48.00) seconds and setting the calendar was 116(53.25) seconds had significant relationship with average daily screen time (p=0.961, 0.945, p<0.0001, <0.0001) respectively. Conclusion: Excessive screen time found to be associated with lack of interest, delayed fine motor and visuospatial learning, as well as poorer academic performance.