Leisure activities and social-emotional wellbeing in children and adolescents. Examining the digital Goldilocks hypothesis
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Previous research suggests that moderate engagement with digital media is associated with greater psychological wellbeing children’s and young adolescents’ as compared to low or excessive levels of engagement (digital Goldilocks hypothesis). The present study aimed to expand these findings by using data from the German Socioeconomic Panel Study (GSOEP; N = 4149; age range: 11-14 years). Leisure activities served as predictors of emotional and behavioural problems (EBP) in a linear regression analysis. We observed U-shaped associations for emotional-behavioural problems with computer gaming, internet use, and music listening. However, linear negative associations dominated for sports, reading and playing music. These results further support the digital Goldilocks hypothesis. More research will be needed to address how different leisure activities interact in their contribution to psychological wellbeing.
