Heavy screen time is often an emotional coping mechanism for children facing household stress, but strong relationships and community activities can pull them back from the digital edge.
Children who experience high levels of trauma are significantly more likely to use digital media for four or more hours a day, but mentors and extracurricular activities buffer this risk.
Parents often treat screen time as a discipline issue or a lack of self-control. This research suggests that for many kids, heavy screen use is a survival strategy used to escape or regulate the stress of a chaotic home life.
If your child is retreating into a tablet for hours, the problem might not be the device—it might be how they are processing family upheaval, economic hardship, or instability. Understanding this shift moves the conversation from "take the phone away" to "build a stronger support system."
Researchers wanted to understand if digital media acts as a "compensatory" tool for kids in difficult situations. They analyzed data from over 54,000 U.S. children to see if positive social connections could counteract the pull of the screen in households facing divorce, incarceration, or special healthcare needs.
Roughly a third of U.S. school-age children are "heavy" users, spending four or more hours a day on digital media.
- The trauma link: Kids with four or more adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) have 67% higher odds of being heavy users compared to peers with fewer stressors.
- The protective power of "PCEs": Participation in after-school activities and having a non-parent mentor were both associated with roughly 40% lower odds of heavy screen use.
- Demographic gaps: Adolescents are nearly three times more likely than younger children to hit the four-hour mark. Non-Hispanic Black children and children with special healthcare needs also showed significantly higher likelihoods of heavy use.
The data suggests screens are an emotional regulator. When a child’s physical world feels unpredictable, the digital world offers a sense of control. This means heavy usage isn't just a bad habit; it's a signal that a child may be lacking the "Positive Childhood Experiences" (PCEs) needed to feel secure in the real world.
This study is observational, meaning it identifies correlations but cannot prove that trauma causes screen use. The data relies on caregivers reporting their own children’s screen time and their own family's history of trauma, which often leads to under-reporting due to social stigma or "good parent" bias. Additionally, the study did not track what the kids were doing on their screens—just how long they were on them.
- If your child is using screens to escape family stress (like a divorce or financial strain), prioritize enrolling them in a consistent after-school club or sport rather than focusing solely on screen limits.
- If you are struggling to manage your teen's device use, help them find a trusted adult mentor—such as a coach, a family friend, or a teacher—as these relationships are statistically linked to lower screen dependency.
- If your child has special healthcare needs or your family is in a single-parent household, be aware that these kids are at higher risk for heavy usage and may need more intentional "offline" social opportunities.
Excessive screen time is often a symptom, not the disease. When children have mentors and a sense of belonging in their community, they are far less likely to disappear into their devices for hours on end.
Crouch E, Shapiro C, Boswell E et al. (2026). Adverse Childhood Experiences, Positive Childhood Experiences, and Digital Media Use among Children and Adolescents in the United States. Journal of child & adolescent trauma. doi:10.1007/s40653-025-00785-z — https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42179425/