The Common Sense Census: Media Use by Tweens and Teens, 2021

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This research compares screen use among 8- to 18-year-olds in 2019 with screen use in 2021, documenting changes in media use patterns during the pandemic.

Over the past two years, the coronavirus pandemic forced many young people to spend much more time at home, away from friends and activities, than they did in pre-pandemic times. One question many adults have had is: How has this affected the amount of time they spend with screens? This report presents the results of a nationally representative, probability-based tracking survey of U.S. tweens and teens, designed to answer that question.

 

In the first year of the pandemic, remote learning required many students to spend hours a day taking classes online. But many also turned to screen media to stay in touch with friends and family, to pursue hobbies and creative interests, and to keep themselves entertained. The survey reported here concerns the amount of time young people spent using media for non-school-related activities, that is, outside of the time spent using digital devices for classes or homework.

 

We were most interested to see whether there were any lasting differences in young people’s use of screen media as society began to open up again in the fall of 2021. Therefore, this report compares the frequency, enjoyment, and time spent engaging in various types of media activities among 8- to 18-year-olds in 2019, just prior to the virus arriving in the United States, and fall 2021, as most schools around the country opened back up for in-person learning.

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