Leisure activities and social-emotional wellbeing in children and adolescents: Examining the digital Goldilocks hypothesis
Friederike Koehler, Eva Schurig, Michael Feldhaus, Suvi Saarikallio, Gunter KreutzObjectives
Previous research suggests that moderate engagement with digital media is associated with greater children’s and young adolescents’ psychological wellbeing as compared to low or excessive levels of engagement (digital Goldilocks hypothesis). The present study aimed to expand these findings by targeting cohorts of German 11-to-14-year-old adolescents.
Methods
Data from the German Socioeconomic Panel Study (GSOEP; N = 4504; age: 12 years) with leisure activities as predictors of emotional and behavioural problems (EBP) were entered into a bivariate linear regression analysis.
Results
We observed significant U-shaped associations for EBP with computer gaming, internet use, and music listening. Linear negative associations dominated for sports, reading and playing music.
Conclusions
These findings provide partial support for the digital Goldilocks hypothesis and add information for non-digital leisure activities, highlighting a nuanced view on the contribution of different leisure activities to adolescents' psychological wellbeing.