Youth Daily Time Use During COVID-19 Lockdown: Socioeconomic Disparities

Introduction

Childhood and adolescence are critical developmental periods, and activities engaged in regularly impact health, nutrition, cognitive development, educational achievement, and overall well-being. For instance, regular physical activity is linked to better physical and mental health outcomes, while time spent on learning activities and socializing fosters cognitive skills development. In contrast, prolonged screen use and reduced sleep are associated with adverse effects and reduced academic performance. Poor health and academic outcomes during childhood and adolescence are linked to adverse socioeconomic outcomes over the life course, such as lower employment rates and earnings, which are associated with substantial welfare loss.

The COVID-19 pandemic and its associated restrictions had a tremendous impact on everyone's lives. Due to school closures, children were required to undertake learning activities in the home environment, and other activities such as socializing and organized sports were substantially impacted. There is evidence that children and adolescents spent significantly more time using screens during the pandemic compared to pre-pandemic.

We expect that the COVID-19 pandemic and its associated restrictions might have exacerbated the existing inequalities in how young people allocated their time. Therefore, this study aimed to explore how adolescents' (age 11-15 years) time use changed during the first COVID-19 lockdown in the UK introduced in March 2020. Furthermore, the study explored the relationship between changes in time use and family-level socioeconomic indicators.

Methods

Data were collected between June 3rd and July 31st, 2020, using an online survey. The survey included questions about the participant's characteristics, school learning and time undertaking other activities, and demographic data such as age, gender, and country of residence.

• Demographic characteristics: Collected information on age, gender, ethnicity, country of residence, school
• Socioeconomic indicators: Family affluence score (FAS), free school meal (FSM) eligibility, and food insecurity as proxy measures of financial hardship.
• Allocation of time: Measured time spent on various activities using different categories: school work, other learning activities outside of school, screen time, exercise, socialising with household members, performing household chores, and sleep.

• Time use data was transformed to analyze the changes due to the lockdown.
• For daily activities, the midpoint of the range for each category was taken to estimate changes in time use.
• To calculate changes in private academic and non-academic tuition, the pre-lockdown was subtracted from the lockdown time use to create a binary variable.
• Exercise was measured based on the frequency per week, using range mid-points and assuming a typical exercise session lasted 1 hour.
• To calculate the total amount of time spent on exercise before lockdown, the number of hours spent on exercise per week was summed.
• To calculate the difference in time allocated to exercise, the variable indicating the total duration of exercise per week before lockdown was subtracted from the variable indicating the duration of exercise per week during lockdown.

• Data were analyzed descriptively, and time allocation for different categories was described using means and standard deviations.
• t-tests and Wilcoxon's signed-rank tests were used to compare changes in activities.
• Unpaired t-tests and ANOVA were used to test the significance of differences across socioeconomic groups.
• Regression modelling was used to explore the relationship between socioeconomic indicators and changes in time use, controlling for demographic characteristics.

Results

• 49% of the sample had a FAS score of 10 or higher; the majority were not eligible for FSMs (84%) and had never experienced food insecurity (90%).
• Time spent on school work during lockdowns was two hours less than when usually at school (pre-lockdown).
• Statistically significant increases of 1.5 hours in total screen time, one hour in sleep time on weekdays and small increases in socialising and household chores were observed.
• Exercises, reading, and weekend sleep times did not show significant changes.
• Private academic and non-academic tuition decreased during lockdown.

Descriptive analysis of the relationship between changes in time use and socioeconomic characteristics

There were some evidence of inequalities as a result of the lockdown. Adolescents with more disadvantage, for instance, reported a higher average increase in screen time and a larger decrease in time spent on school work.

Regression analysis of the relationship between changes in time use and socioeconomic characteristic

• FAS was found to be significantly associated with exercise and socialising time with household members.
• FSM eligibility and food insecurity were only found to be significantly associated with weekday and weekend sleep duration.

Discussion

Overall decrease in school work, rise in screen time

The decrease in school work understandably reflects school closures and the transition to remote learning. Screen time increases by 1.5 hours is consistent with other published studies.

Exercise patterns

A small decrease in exercise time was overall observed, but socioeconomic factors played a role. Higher socioeconomic advantage was significantly associated with a slight decrease in this group.

Sleep duration

An increase in sleep duration was found, accompanied by increased weekday sleep duration among those eligible for free school meals. These changes suggest a reduction of pre-lockdown socioeconomic inequalities.

Gender and time allocation differences

Girls had higher increases in screen time, while boys spent more time on videogames.

Methodological reflections

The study acknowledges limitations such as the lack of universal screen time recommendations, the use of self-reported data, reliance on social media advertising for recruitment, and the assumption that physical exercise sessions lasted 1 hour.

Implications for policy

Time allocation is seen as economically valuable for both the individual and society, and policies that target this aspect can lead to benefits. This study suggests a disproportionate impact on those with lower family socioeconomic positioning, adding to the evidence on socioeconomic disparities. The exploration of multiple socioeconomic measures (FAS, FSM eligibility, food insecurity) highlights some underlying nuances.

Conclusion

The COVID-19 lockdown disrupted the daily routines of adolescents, leading to changes in time allocation. Some observed changes, such as increase in screen time and decrease in school work, pose a concern for long-term developmental consequences. While our results provide valuable insights, there is a need for research to explore these changes over the entire duration of the pandemic and in different countries. Understanding the underlying mechanisms is crucial for the development of policies that address the potential disparities and promote healthy time allocation among young people.