Screenieboppers and extreme screenies: the place of screen time in the time budgets of 10–13 year‐old Australian children

Objectives: Excessive ‘screen time’ has been associated with a range of psychosocial disturbances and increasing pediatric obesity. This study describes the magnitude, distribution, composition and time‐distribution of children's screen use; examines correlates of screen use; and characterises ‘extreme’ screen users (top quartile). Methods: 1,039 South Australian children aged 10–13 years old completed a multimedia 24‐hour activity recall diary on 2–4 occasions in 2002, including at least one school day and one non‐school day. Results: The median screen time was 229 minutes.d‐1. This was higher in boys (264 vs. 196 minutes; p