By Juliano Oliveira
Young students exposed to moderate use of screen time devices on weekdays have improved their reading scores at the National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN).
Research conducted by the Telethon Institute’s Young Minds Matter analysed students aged between 11-17 who had watched educational content online: children who engaged moderately with screen time were 13% more likely to get higher reading scores.
The study’s author, Raaj Kishore Biswas, believes that learning new skills and solving tricky games like coding games, building apps and robots these school holidays makes for good active screen time.
He told the Herald Sun that parents should monitor their children’s gaming and internet use and step in if kids are glued to their screens for too long.
“The results of this study show that parental monitoring and self-regulation of timing and intensity of internet use and gaming are essential to prevent negative effects on academic performance,” he said.
Managing Director of digital literacy streaming service, CODEFLIX and Junior Engineers, Adam Jacobs, said that the survey proved that screen time could be beneficial to children – especially those that engage in positive screen time habits.
“Screen time doesn’t need to be an inactive and passive experience – by providing children with the right tools for active screen time,” Mr Jacobs said.
“We can make smart use of our children’s screen time by encouraging those that are beneficial where they learn a new skill like coding or building apps and reducing the time spent on passive activities such as scrolling through social media.”