The following is excerpted from an online article posted by StudyFinds
A parent scrolling through a phone at the dinner table while a teenager disappears into a marathon session of Grand Theft Auto or Call of Duty is a scene that plays out in millions of homes every evening. New research says those two behaviors are not simply happening under the same roof. They are connected, and the pattern was still visible one and two years later.
A large-scale study tracking more than 7,400 American adolescents over two years found that parents’ own screen habits were tied to their teenagers playing more video games, including titles rated for mature audiences. Habits in question included how often parents used devices around their kids, whether screens were on during meals, and whether screens were used around bedtime or in bedrooms. Parents who tracked and set limits on their children’s screen time, by contrast, saw their teens gaming less and playing fewer violent or adult-themed titles down the road.
Parents who used more screens around their kids saw those teens more likely to play mature-rated games later on. Screens on during meals brought a similar result: teens in those homes were more likely to play mature-rated games, spent more time gaming on weekends, and showed slightly higher rates of what researchers call problematic gaming, when play starts interfering with school, relationships or daily life. Screens used around bedtime followed the same pattern, with teens more likely to play mature-rated games and log more overall gaming time.
One notable finding involved parents who used screen time as a reward or punishment. Rather than curbing gaming, that approach was tied to more problematic gaming and more total playtime. Researchers suggested framing screen time as something to be earned might make it more appealing, or that it could trigger the pull toward independence common in adolescence. Those are proposed explanations, not confirmed causes.
Not every result pointed toward caution. Parents who simply kept track of screen time saw teens play fewer mature-rated games and log less gaming overall. Parents who set firm limits saw clearer results still, with lower odds of mature-rated play and fewer weekend hours logged.
Source: StudyFinds
https://studyfinds.com/parents-scrolling-teens-gaming/