Children and teenagers in Spain are spending increasing amounts of time in front of screens. According to a study by the Gasol Foundation, they average almost four hours a day. The differences between age groups and social backgrounds are particularly striking: teenagers and children from families without a university degree spend significantly more time with digital devices.
Spain Expat Press Editorial Team
by Marlon Gallego Bosbach
The results show that screen time is not the same for all young people. The foundation therefore calls for more support for families and better opportunities to promote healthy leisure habits.
Screen time in Spain has increased since 2019
The study is based on the PASOS project of the Gasol Foundation and compares data from 2019 and 2022. A total of 6,100 children and adolescents aged eight to 16 years were included.
In 2022, the average screen time was 224 minutes per day. That’s 17 minutes more than in 2019, when the figure was 207 minutes. Extrapolated, this means that children and teenagers spend around 1,366 hours per year in front of screens.
This trend is particularly evident in the number of young people who spend more than two hours a day in front of screens. 71.7 percent of the children and adolescents surveyed exceeded this threshold.
Boys spend more time in front of screens than girls
Differences also exist between genders. In 2022, boys averaged 243.1 minutes of screen time per day, while girls averaged 206.9 minutes.
However, the gap between the two groups has narrowed since 2019. Back then, it was 45 minutes per day, while in 2022 it was 36 minutes. This is mainly due to the fact that screen time has increased more significantly among girls.
While girls spent 20.6 minutes more in front of screens each day compared to 2019, the increase for boys was 11.7 minutes.
Teenagers spend almost five hours a day in front of screens
Screen time increases significantly with age. In 2022, teenagers averaged 284.8 minutes per day – equivalent to approximately four hours and 45 minutes.
91.8 percent of the adolescents exceeded the benchmark of two hours per day used in the report. The difference between adolescents and younger children has widened further since 2019: from 95 to 108 minutes daily.
Particularly high levels were found in pupils in the fourth grade of the Spanish secondary school ESO, who are usually 15 to 16 years old.
The parents’ level of education plays an important role
The study makes it clear that screen use is also linked to social background. Children and adolescents whose parents do not have a university degree spend, on average, more time in front of screens than their peers from families with a university degree.
Children of parents without a university degree averaged 241.7 minutes of screen time per day. That is almost 46 minutes more than children of parents with a university degree.
Particularly high levels of screen time were found among adolescent boys from families without a university degree. They averaged 304.6 minutes per day – slightly more than five hours. By comparison, adolescent girls whose parents have a university degree spent an average of 128.9 minutes per day in front of screens. This represents a difference of almost three hours per day between these two groups.
Gasol Foundation calls for more support for families
The Gasol Foundation sees the findings as a societal and public health challenge. Its founder and president, Pau Gasol, emphasized that habits formed in childhood can influence later life.
It’s not just about screen time. Sleep, nutrition, physical activity, and emotional well-being also play a role. The foundation therefore calls for greater support for families and more opportunities for children to engage in active leisure activities.
At the same time, digital platforms and providers of online content should be held more accountable in order to create a safer digital environment for minors.
Health Minister García focuses on healthy leisure activities
Spanish Health Minister Mónica García also participated in the presentation of the results. She emphasized the importance of healthy living conditions for children and adolescents and pointed to the link between social disadvantage and health risks.
García advocated for providing families with better opportunities so that children can exercise, get sufficient rest, and develop healthy habits.
In this context, she referred to the “Tardes Con Plan” program. This initiative aims to promote healthy lifestyle habits and is specifically targeted at families in socially disadvantaged areas. The program focuses on nutrition, sleep and rest, physical activity, and emotional well-being.
Screen time is not automatically problematic
The study results show an increasing use of digital devices and significant differences between various population groups. However, they do not mean that every minute spent in front of a screen is inherently harmful.
The two-hour benchmark used in the report serves as a benchmark for the analysis and is not a universally applicable recommendation for every age group and every type of screen use. Furthermore, the specific uses – such as for school, entertainment, or social interaction – are not fully reflected in the average values provided.
The Gasol Foundation therefore advocates a nuanced approach to the issue. Crucially, it is important to support families, provide healthy alternatives, and give greater consideration to the living conditions of children and young people.
