Crowding Out: What Screen Time Displaces

Question: What is screen time displacing or crowding out? Is time spent on screens getting in the way of opportunities for human connection or other essential activities (e.g., physical activity, homework, reading, etc.)? 

Answer: Thank you for the great question! Before we dive into the research on screen time and displacement, it’s important to recognize that digital media use involves much more than simply measuring the number of minutes or hours spent on a device. Historically, the term “screen time” was mainly used to refer to television watching. Today, however, people use screens in many different ways, including browsing the Internet, working or doing homework, talking with friends and family, using social media, gaming, and watching TV.  

Considering the quality of screen use and the types of activities involved, rather than the quantity of time spent on screens, can be especially useful. For example, spending 30 minutes on a FaceTime call with family, spending 30 minutes watching a lesson or lecture, and spending 30 minutes scrolling through short-form content might feel very different even though the same amount of time is spent on each activity.  

There are several forms of displacement to consider when it comes to screen time, including: 

1. Time Displacement: This type of displacement suggests that spending more time on certain activities, such as using technology, may reduce the amount of time spent on other activities.
2. Social Displacement: This type of displacement refers to the idea that time spent using social media may replace time spent in face-to-face interaction, particularly with close friends and family.
3. Media Displacement: This type of displacement focuses on the idea that different forms of media compete for a limited amount of time, meaning that time spent on one type of media may crowd out time available for other media activities, such as entertainment media or print media. For example, time spent on social media use might replace time previously spent watching a movie. 

Research studies have also evaluated the effects of screen use relative to the displacement of other activities, such as: 

• Sleep: Screen use may reduce sleep duration or interfere with sleep quality.  
• Physical Activity: The relationship between screen time and physical activity appears inconsistent, with some findings showing little or no association and others showing associations in conflicting directions: greater amounts of screen time in children and adolescents linked to lower physical fitness, versus children who spent increased time on screen-based media tending to be more physically active. 
• Learning: Preschool- and kindergarten-aged children with increased screen time displayed lower language and socio-emotional development, especially when screen time displaced interactive activities such as parent-child reading.  
• Relationships: In older children and adolescents, screen use may be used to maintain relationships and communication with peers. However, in younger children, face-to-face interaction plays a central role in early relationship development, and higher levels of screen use have been associated with lower parent-child closeness and with reduced peer play time, suggesting that screen use may displace opportunities for in-person social interaction during this developmental period.  

The impact of age 

Screen time and displacement may also look different from one age range or developmental stage to another (e.g., preschoolers versus teens). Because many of children’s needs, routines, and social environments change over time, the potential effects of screen use may also differ by age. For example, for adolescents: 

• Social media use showed a more complex relationship with peer interaction and friendship closeness. One study found that adolescents who used social media to stay in touch with close friends more frequently than their peers experienced higher levels of friendship closeness throughout the study period. 
• Another study found that having a mobile phone was not associated with displacement of beneficial activities like enrichment, physical activity, or sleep, but was instead linked to reduced time spent on other, more traditional forms of media such as television, movies, or videos. 

What families can do to crowd back in activities and opportunities that screens may be displacing 

• Check out The 5 Cs of Media Use 
  • The 5 Cs is a resource that can help you think about what might be developmentally appropriate for your child around social media and other technology.  
    • Pay special attention to “Crowding Out,” which discusses how screen time might impact how that time may be spent on other activities.  
    • “Content” may also be relevant to understanding how the types of content (such as educational) can impact youth and how time is allotted to different activities. 
• Spend time reading together. Especially for families with younger children, there is evidence that reallocating screen time to time spent engaged in shared reading can lead to improved language and socio-emotional outcomes. 
• Find time to connect. Make sure time on screens isn’t getting in the way of some other emotional connection opportunity a child might otherwise have with their family, like hearing stories, watching shows or movies together, snuggling or learning some special skill (like cooking, telling jokes) that their caregiver wants to share with them.   
• Prioritize healthy sleep habits. Sleep is an essential part of health for all people, especially children and adolescents. The National Sleep Foundation (NSF) recommends that children 6-13 years of age get 9-11 hours of sleep per night, and adolescents 14-17 years of age get 8-10 hours per night. See this previous portal response for tips for teens to promote healthy sleep habits.  
• Create a family media plan. Work with your family to make a Family Media Plan to help set priorities and make sure your family’s screen use meets your goals.  

Here are some additional resources that can include strategies to help families and young children balance screen use with other activities.  

• Common Sense Media’s “When Families Ask About Healthy Digital Habits and Quality Content” Article 
  • This resource provides answers and tips to questions surrounding screen time and content by age, focusing on screen time and quality content.  
    • Grades K-2: Emphasizes the importance of co-viewing and viewing content that is educational and designed for learning. 
    • Grades 3-5: Focusing on the quality of content (alignment to readiness, interests, values), setting boundaries for YouTube, and avoiding short-form videos and content.  
    • Grades 6-8: Begin to reflect on positive and negative effects of digital life on health and wellbeing, along with assessing content and messages to boost media literacy skills.  
    • Grades 9-12: Setting the example through modeling and encouraging reflection, encouraging teens to find content that fuels their interests, and to remain involved in habits (even with increased autonomy).  
• Common Sense Media’s “How to Help Kids Balance Phones and Screens with Sleep” Article
  • This article by Common Sense Media discusses different ways to balance tech use at night to support a healthy night’s sleep, such as limiting using screens before bed, turning off notifications, having conversations about tech use (can tie into the Family Media Plan), “walking the walk” (or modeling healthy tech habits), and blocking blue light.  
• The AAP’s Q&A Portal Question on Screen Time Guidelines 
  • For more information, here is a portal question response looks at screen time, particularly on social media platforms. Key considerations and ideas that are brought up include the relationship between screen use and well-being, recommendations for parents/caregivers, and encouraging media balance.  

References 

• Cabanas-Sánchez, V., Martínez-Gómez, D., Esteban-Cornejo, I., Pérez-Bey, A., Castro Piñero, J., & Veiga, O. L. (2019). Associations of total sedentary time, screen time and non-screen sedentary time with adiposity and physical fitness in youth: the mediating effect of physical activity. Journal of Sports Sciences, 37(8), 839–849.  
• Gath, M., McNeill, B., & Gillon, G. (2023). Preschoolers’ screen time and reduced opportunities for quality interaction: Associations with language development and parent-child closeness. Current Research in Behavioral Sciences, 5, 100140.   
• Hall, J. A., & Liu, D. (2022). Social media use, social displacement, and well-being. Current Opinion in Psychology, 46, 101339.   
• Li, S., Chai, L., Ma, L., Gu, S., Wang, T., Wang, L., & Zhou, J. (2026). Screens or books? Isotemporal substitution of different home activities on language and socio-emotional skills in preschool children. Computers in Human Behavior, 175, 108847.
• Lo, C. K. M., Chan, E. W. W., Cho, Y. W., Chan, K. L., Ip, P., & Ho, F. K. (2025). Association between screen time and health-related quality of life: Testing the displacement and relational hypotheses in a prospective cohort study. Computers in Human Behavior Reports, 19, 100720. 
• Pouwels, J. L., Valkenburg, P. M., Beyens, I., van Driel, I. I., & Keijsers, L. (2021). Social Media Use and friendship closeness in adolescents’ daily lives: An experience sampling study. Developmental Psychology, 57(2), 309–323.   
• Putnick, D. L., Trinh, M.-H., Sundaram, R., Bell, E. M., Ghassabian, A., Robinson, S. L., & Yeung, E. (2022). Displacement of peer play by Screen Time: Associations with Toddler Development. Pediatric Research, 93(5), 1425–1431.  
• Röhlke, L. (2025). Does mobile phone use in early adolescence displace enrichment, physical activity, and sleep? A longitudinal examination of the time-displacement hypothesis. Social Science Research, 131, 103226.   
• Tripathi, M., & Mishra, S. K. (2019). Screen Time and adiposity among children and adolescents: A systematic review. Journal of Public Health, 28(3), 227–244.  

Age: 0-24 

Topics: Screen time, displacement, crowding out 

Role: Youth