Scientists in Britain have discovered that teenagers who spend an extra hour a day watching a screen risk performing two grades worse in exams than students who don’t.
In the study of more than 800 students aged 14 and 15, researchers also found that physical activity had no effect on academic performance.
The researchers followed the students over time to see how different behaviours affected their academic performance. They concluded that too much time using the internet, watching TV or playing computer games reduced academic achievement.
The study found that the average amount of time a teenager spent in front of a screen was four hours per day. Television was found to be the screen that had the worst impact on exam performance.
Unsurprisingly, the results also found that students who do an extra hour of daily homework and reading scored better in exams than their peers.
