UNIVERSITY OF JYVÄSKYLÄ

Eight-Year Finnish Study Links Greater Childhood Screen Time to Better Cognitive Processing in Adolescence

- An eight-year follow-up of the PANIC study found that greater screen time from childhood to adolescence was associated with better cognitive processing at an average age of 15.8 years. - Researchers stressed the association does not prove causation, emphasizing that the type of screen activity—active thinking, problem-solving, creativity, and learning—likely matters most. - Physical activity showed sex-specific links to cognition, with light-intensity activity benefiting girls' working memory and guided activity benefiting boys'. - The findings, published in Pediatric Exercise Science, call for more intervention studies to clarify causal relationships and sex differences.