Supervised and Unsupervised Screen Time and Its Association With Physical, Mental, and Social Health of School-Going Children in Dhaka, Bangladesh: Cross-Sectional Study.

Background: Children's screen time has substantially increased worldwide, including in Bangladesh, especially since the pandemic, which is raising concern about its potential adverse effects on their physical, mental, and social health. Parental supervision may play a crucial role in mitigating these negative impacts. However, there is a lack of empirical evidence assessing the relationship between parental screen time supervision and health outcomes among school children in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Objective: We aimed to explore the association between supervised and unsupervised screen time on the physical, mental, and social health of school-going children in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional descriptive study between July 2022 and June 2024. A total of 420 children, aged 6-14 years, were enrolled via the stratified random sampling method across three English medium and three Bangla medium schools in Dhaka. Data were collected through a semistructured questionnaire; anthropometry measurements; and the Bangla-validated Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ), Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) Scale, and Spencer Children Anxiety Scale (SCAS).

Results: A total of 234 out of 420 students (56%) used digital screen devices without parental supervision. We did not find a substantial difference in the duration of the daily mean use of digital devices among the supervised students (4.5 hours, SD 2.2 hours) and the unsupervised students (4.6 hours, SD 2.4 hours). According to the type of school, English medium school children had a mean higher screen time (5.46 hours, SD 2.32 hours) compared to Bangla medium school children (3.67 hours, SD 2.00 hours). Headache was significantly higher among the unsupervised digital screen users compared to those who used digital screens with parental supervision (175/336 students, 52.1% versus 161/336 students, 47.9%; P<.003). Moreover, students who used digital screens without parental supervision had poor quality of sleep. Behavioral problems such as conduct issues (119/420 students, 28.3%) and peer difficulties (121/420 students, 28.8%) were observed among the participants. However, when comparing supervised and unsupervised students, we found no statistically significant differences in the prevalence of these issues.

Conclusions: The findings of the study showed that the lack of screen time supervision is associated with negative health effects in children. The roles of various stakeholders, including schools, parents, policy makers, and students themselves, are crucial in developing effective guidelines for managing screen use among students. Further research is needed to demonstrate causal mechanisms; identify the best interventions; and determine the role of mediators and moderators in households, surroundings, and schools.