Professor Ben Edwards will lead an Australian National University (ANU) team examining the effects of excessive screen use on children’s learning, cognition and mental health.

The project will use 10 years of data from the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children to explore the impacts of screen use outside school hours on primary and secondary school students.

It has been funded through the NSW Government’s Screen Use and Addiction Research Fund.

“Screen time is one of the most difficult issues for parents to manage and for young people to navigate,” Professor Edwards said.

“We cannot escape screens, so understanding safe levels is critically important for young people to moderate their own use and for parents to provide clear guidelines.

“We are excited to explore the implications of excessive screen time on students’ academic achievement, cognitive functioning and mental health.

“The study will look at the impacts on NAPLAN results, cognition, depression and anxiety.

“We will use 10 years of high-quality data on how students use social media, television, videos, YouTube etc, so we can understand the long-term implications and, hopefully, identify safe levels of use.”

The fund will support nine projects, and research teams are expected to deliver their findings at the end of 2026. The combined research effort will be administered and supported by the NSW Department of Education’s Centre for Education Statistics and Evaluation (CESE).

Professor Edwards said the data would allow researchers to consider factors such as gender, socio-economics and where students reside.

“We want to identify those groups most at risk of adverse outcomes and what factors could protect them and also promote positive benefits,” he said.

“For some, screen time and social media could be important ways to reach out to their tribes and get support.

“It is important to consider the short- and long-term nuances to develop guidelines for parents and schools.

“We want to inform better policies and procedures to support young people and optimise their use of screens.”