Youth as researchers: A participatory study on screen time and its impact on well-being and activity levels

This study investigates the effects of a targeted reduction in personal screen time—specifically, a 50% halving of daily screen usage—over a one-week period on the psychological well-being and activity behavior of children and adolescents. At its core is a participatory research approach, in which the KiJuRa (Kinder- und Jugendrat) collaborates with researchers from Philipps-University Marburg to co-develop the research question, design the intervention, and reflect on the study outcomes. Members of the KiJuRa serve as active co-researchers, participating in all phases of the study—from planning and implementation to evaluation. The target population comprises children and adolescents aged 10 to 18 years. The study examines total screen time, encompassing television viewing, video game use, digital platform engagement, social media consumption, and other screen-based activities. The KiJuRa emphasizes the importance of understanding the broader impacts of screen use on psychological well-being and daily activity patterns, particularly given that many children begin engaging regularly with screens—through gaming consoles, streaming series, or films—by the age of ten, even in the absence of active social media use (Feierabend et al., 2024). To capture individual changes in psychological well-being, leisure-time organization, and daily screen time, the KiJuRa plans to collect anonymous, daily digital survey data from participants. This data collection will be conducted using the DSGVO-compliant research app m-Path developed by the University of Leuven (https://m-path.io/landing/). Daily assessments enable precise and longitudinal tracking of subjective changes in participants’ everyday lives. The overarching goal of the study is to deepen understanding of the interplay between screen use and personal lifestyle among children and adolescents. Simultaneously, the project aims to demonstrate how young people, through participatory research, can scientifically analyze their own lived environments and actively contribute to knowledge production through meaningful insights and engagement.