Physical Activity and Screen time, and Academic Concentration Among School Aged Adolescents in the Digital Age: A Systematic Review
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.53863/mor.v6i2.2455Keywords:
physical activity, screen time, concentrationAbstract
In the digital age, the decline in academic concentration among school-aged adolescents has become a growing concern, often linked to a lack of physical activity and excessive screen time. This systematic review aims to examine how these two factors influence adolescents’ concentration during the learning process. Following the PRISMA 2020 guidelines, a systematic search for articles was conducted in the PubMed, and ScienceDirect databases, and the results were screened based on titles, abstracts, and full texts according to the predefined inclusion criteria. Ten studies involving school-aged adolescents met the inclusion criteria and were included in the final analysis. The results indicate that consistent physical activity supports cognitive function and concentration, whereas high screen time is associated with reduced attention and decreased working memory capacity. Of particular note is that the combination of high physical activity and low screen time showed the most consistent association with cognitive function across all domains studied. However, since most of the included studies used cross-sectional designs, a causal relationship cannot yet be confirmed; experimental studies are needed to confirm the effectiveness of physical activity interventions and screen time restrictions in improving concentration during learning
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