Australian children’s screen time soars to nine hours daily

New research from Macquarie University has found that gaming addiction and smartphone overuse are starting much earlier than previously thought, with children as young as 10 showing clinical-level gaming disorder.

The study, published in Current Psychology, is Australia’s largest and youngest screen addiction prevalence study to date.

From nearly 2000 Australian school students surveyed from Year 4 to Year 8, four per cent of children showed signs of clinical or sub-clinical Internet Gaming Disorder.

Lead researcher Brad Marshall from Macquarie University’s School of Psychological Sciences, and Director of the Screens and Gaming Disorder Clinic in Sydney, said the findings challenge assumptions that problematic gaming is primarily a teenage phenomenon.

"Most work on screen use disorders in children focuses on 15 and 16-year-olds, but we know these issues are beginning earlier and earlier," Marshall said.

The study found secondary school students averaged 9.03 hours daily on screens, while primary students spent 6.34 hours – a dramatic increase from 2017 pre-COVID data showing 6.09 hours for adolescents and 4.24 hours for primary students.

Marshall estimates the findings translate to approximately 100,000 Australian children with gaming disorder and 350,000 at risk of smartphone addiction.

The researchers measured real-world impacts across educational, emotional, behavioural, and social/physical development areas and found children with clinical-level gaming disorders showed impacts four times higher than those without screen problems.

Girls showed higher rates of smartphone addiction (15.2 per cent at moderate-high risk versus 7.2 per cent of boys), while gaming disorder favoured boys at a 3:2 ratio.

Co-author Professor Wayne Warburton said the research underlines the importance of early intervention. “This study shows high screen use is a problem at a younger age than previously thought.”

The research was conducted by Marshall with co-authors Professor Wayne Warburton, Professor Maria Kangas and Professor Naomi Sweller, all from Macquarie University's School of Psychological Sciences.

The researchers called for early intervention strategies including parent education and school-based programs.