Co-viewers support participation in video chat interactions, but live experiences promote richer word learning for 24- to 36-month-olds in the USA

ABSTRACT

The 2016 recommendations by the American Academy of Pediatricsto limit screen time for young children now provide exceptions for moderate video chat usage. We tested whether co-viewer supported face-to-face live interactions uniquely promote 24- to 36-month-old children’s participation and learning compared to co-viewer supported on-screen video chat interactions. An adult co-viewer explained the relevance of a social partner’s information and helped children see the partner as connected to real events and objects. Results showed that the partner condition impacted learning: children learned and transferred more novel words in the live condition compared to the video chat condition, and this difference was greatest for younger children. However, children participated similarly with live and video chat partners: there were no differences in imitating actions and responding promptly to the partner’s bids. Results therefore demonstrated that even when children experience media with a supportive co-viewer and even when they interact with the on-screen information, they nevertheless learn more from live interactions compared to video chat interactions.

KEYWORDS:

• Video chat
• co-viewing
• joint media engagement
• cognitive development
• social interaction
• word learning
• transfer deficit
• screen time
• early childhood

Acknowledgments

This work was funded by professional development funds to the first author from the Lafayette College Provost’s Office, and by EXCEL Scholar research assistantships to the second and third authors from the Lafayette College Academic Research Committee. Portions of this research were presented at the 2017 meeting of the Cognitive Development Society (Portland, OR) and 2019 meeting of the Society for Research in Child Development (Baltimore, MD).

We appreciate feedback on the manuscript provided by Amy Jordan and two anonymous reviewers. We thank Josselyn Alvarenga for posing for photos in Figure 1. We are grateful for the parents and children who participated in this research and to the following local organizations, stores and groups for assisting in participant recruitment: Lehigh Valley Find and Go Seek, Peas & Qs at Steel Stacks, Ju Ju Monkey, Sing N Move, My Smart Hands, Easton Farmers Market, Emmaus Farmers Market, Lehigh Valley Area Public Libraries (Easton, Bethlehem, Philipsburg, Emmaus), Motherbaby Naturals Community Moms Group, and MOMs Clubs of Easton and Bethlehem. The first author thanks the Any Good Thing Writing Group, and especially Julia Nicodemus, Angelika von Wahl, and Mallory SoRelle for their collegial and interdisciplinary support of academic writing. Finally, the first author is incredibly appreciative of nanny extraordinaire Maggie Lee for providing developmentally appropriate, creative and affectionate care of Charlotte and Madeline during working hours.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Lauren J. Myers

Lauren J. Myers, Ph.D. is an Assistant Professor of Psychology at Lafayette College. She is the principal investigator of the Lafayette Kids Lab (https://sites.lafayette.edu/kidslab/) where she directs research on children’s cognitive development. Her research has been published in various developmental psychology journals and has been covered in major news outlets such as Child Trends, Web MD Magazine, and Medium.

Heather Keyser

Heather Keyser graduated from Lafayette College in 2018 with a Bachelors of Arts degree (cum laude) in Psychology and a Minor in Anthropology and Sociology. She served as an EXCEL Scholar for Professor Myers for 2016-2018. She is currently a Research Technician at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Center for Studies of Addiction.

Mary Cors

Mary Cors graduated from Lafayette College in 2019 with a Bachelor of Arts degree (summa cum laude) in Psychology and French. She served as an EXCEL Scholar for Professor Myers for 2017. She is currently pursuing the degree of Masters of Arts in Teaching.