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University of Maryland Researchers Find Home Computer Use by Kids Brings Benefits, But Not to All


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COLLEGE PARK, Md. -- A new study by researchers at the University of Maryland shows that preteen children (ages 10-12) in the United States are generally benefiting from the steady rise in computer use among their age group.

The study, published in the journal Child Development, found that the benefits were not spread equally across children, but were concentrated among girls and minority boys. The results were consistent over the 1997-2003 and 2003-2008 periods.

"It is safe to say that we are not going to reverse the trend toward increasing use of the computer in middle childhood, and that adolescent achievement and adjustment generally benefit from it," said lead researcher Sandra Hofferth, professor of family science and director of the Maryland Population Research Center at the University of Maryland.

According to Hofferth the overall message of the study is that greater computer time can raise children's achievement without increasing behavior problems, but that video game play still needs monitoring.

The researchers found that the use of computers at home increased between 1997 and 2008 for elementary school-aged children. Compared to 23 percent in 1997, 32 percent of children aged 10-12 used the computer at home in an average week in 2003. By 2008 that had risen to 55 percent. Between 1997 and 2003 the largest increase was in game playing. Between 2003 and 2008 there was additional increase in the use of the computer for emailing, surfing websites, and studying. In 2008, 22 percent of 10-12 children used the computer to look at websites, 20 percent used it for email, 24 percent used it to play games and 9 percent used it to study (see Table 1 for trends). Except for computer games, home computer use was higher among adolescents 16-18 in 2003, with 29 percent using a home computer for surfing the web, 40 percent for sending e-mail, 12 percent for playing games, and 20 percent for studying.

Video game playing increased the most between 1997 and 2003, and only slightly across the 2003-2008 period, suggesting that video game playing may have peaked. Of the total 4.1 weekly hours spent using the home computer and video games by 10-12 year olds in 1997, 20 percent was spent playing computer games, 16 percent was spent communicating, 3 percent was spent studying, and 61 percent was spent playing video games. Computer time increased to a total of 6.1 hours in 2008, of which 21 percent was spent playing computer games, 27 percent was spent communicating, 7 percent was spent studying, and 45 percent was spent playing video games.

In 2003 television remained the dominant medium in middle childhood, with viewing averaging about 15 hours per week for 10-12 year olds. Even though no decline was noted in television use between 1997 and 2003, its use declined between 2003 and 2008, to about 13 hours. In 2003 there were few tradeoffs between television viewing and new media; today, however, new media have begun to make inroads into television viewing time.

Following up on other research into children's time, Dr. Hofferth set out to explore whether the increased use of media such as computers and video games was having a detrimental effect on children's achievement or causing increased behavior problems such as aggression or withdrawal.

In spite of concern by parents about too much screen time leading to increased isolation from peers, to increased aggressive behavior, or to neglect of schoolwork, most of the fears were not realized. The reading and math achievement of white girls who increased their computer use between 1997 and 2003 and the reading scores of black boys who increased their computer use improved. Additionally, playing more on the computer was associated with reduced withdrawal problems for white girls.

One reason parents and experts expected there to be dire consequences for children's achievement was that they expected new media to displace not old media but activities such as reading, studying, playing sports, being active out of doors, and socializing with peers -- activities that are good for children's achievement and behavior. This study found, instead, that displacement did not occur for computers. Computer time was compatible with studying and reading; therefore, the study found mostly positive effects of computer use on achievement, with one exception -- white boys who spent more time looking at websites had slightly lower achievement scores.

In contrast, video game play was incompatible with most other activities. Except for sports, as video game time went up, reading and studying went down. Because video game play time was so much greater for them, an association between increased video game play and reduced achievement was expected for boys. Unexpectedly, no positive or negative associations with achievement for boys were found. Previous research had identified video games as potentially increasing aggressive behavior because so many video games are violent and aggressive. For both white and black boys, this study found that greater time spent playing video games between 1997 and 2003 was indeed associated with increased aggressive behavior, though the association was quite small. In contrast, there was a positive association for girls; black girls who played video games increased their math problem solving score.

Finally, this study documented a continuing digital divide in computer use, with the levels of use of black children one-quarter to one-third of white children in 2003, with a slightly smaller gap by 2008. It also suggested that black children's achievement could benefit from more access to computers at home.

STUDY CONTACT: Sandra Hofferth, 301-405-6403 or 443-527-5894, hofferth@umd.edu

Research details
This research project, supported by grant R24-HD041041 from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute for Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), analyzed data from a nationally representative survey of 3,563 children under age 13 and their parents that was collected by the University of Michigan in 1997, with follow-ups in 2003 and 2008. A typical week was constructed for each child using complete 24-hour diaries of children's activities on a weekday and a weekend day. The activities of age groups of children were compared across two or three waves. More than 1,000 children were tested in 1997 and again in 2003 using standardized tests of achievement and parental reports of behavior. Sandra Hofferth is Director of the Maryland Population Research Center (MPRC) and Professor of Family Science at the University of Maryland. For more information about the research and about the programs go to the Maryland Population Research Center website.

Is the Time Correct Yet - on my camera?


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I'm trying a second time to set the time correctly on my camera. I'm preparing for mini-DILO on May 1, 2005. It's still OFF by 4 minutes.

Computer Workstations


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There are about 20 public computers on the lower level of the library. They can be used for up to 1 hour at a time and are equipped with Microsoft Word, Excel and Powerpoint, access to the internet, instant messenger programs, and all hooked up to the print station.

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