Children’s screen and problematic media use in the United States before and during the COVID‐19 pandemic

Abstract This mixed methods study examined parent‐reported child screen media use before and during the COVID‐19 pandemic by examining 2019–2020 changes in parent perceptions of media, screen media use (SMU), and problematic media use (PMU) in children aged 2–13 years ( N = 129; 64 boys, 64 girls, 1 nonbinary; 90.7% White, 4.6% Hispanic/Latino, 0.8% Black, 8.5% multiethnic; primarily middle‐to‐high income). Quantitative analyses showed a significant SMU and PMU increase (medium effect size). There was a steeper increase in PMU among school‐age (older) children. Together, the qualitative and quantitative results suggest that the PMU and SMU increase were influenced by distal, proximal, and maintaining factors including the COVID‐19 pandemic, distance learning, child behaviors, other children, parental mediation, and positive media reinforcement.