Stuart J.H. Biddle, Fitria Dwi Andriyani, George Thomas
Seminal research studies concerning TV viewing and health in children date back nearly 40 years. The field of screen use from the view of sedentary behaviour and health has increased significantly to include many health outcomes. However, there are uncertainties and complexities that have been downplayed or ignored. One problem has been to see sedentary behaviour in the form of screen viewing as unrelated to other behaviours, or to see it as nearly always negative. We explore such issues by tracing some important developments in the study of sedentary behaviour through screen viewing in young people and by recognising the interconnectedness of such behaviours with more active behaviours through a 24-hour movement model. Moreover, the complexity of the field will be illustrated through a behavioural complexity map. Physical and social context will be shown to be important through research data from wearable cameras. The role of screens in the health and lives of children and adolescents can only be fully understood by recognising the complex and nuanced nature of such behaviours, such as accounting for time and context, as well as the function screen-based devices serve for young people. © 2026 selection and editorial matter, Victoria A. Goodyear and Andrea Bundon; individual chapters, the contributors.
University of Southern Queensland, Australia; University of Jyväskylä, Finland; Yogyakarta State University, Indonesia; University of Queensland, Australia
