30th Apr 2024

Background: The 24-hour movement guidelines recommend that screen time (ST) should be limited to ≤2 hours/day to maintain appropriate levels of health. However, in relation to cognitive abilities, such as working memory, different types of devices media have shown divergent results. Thus, the aim was analyze the interrelationships between screen devices and working memory, according to adolescents´ compliance with screen time guidelines. Methods: Cross-sectional data were collected from a sample of 153 adolescents (72 boys; 14.9 years-old). Self-reported ST for television (TV), video games (VG), smartphones, and leisure personal computer (PCL) were categorized based on compliance with screen time guideline (≤2 hours/day). Working memory was assessed thought the Corsi block-tapping test, by the block span (BS) measure. Additionally, cardiorespiratory fitness (20-m shuttle run test), body mass index (BMI), and maternal education level (self-reported) were recorded. Partial correlation networks and the expected influence centrality measure were calculated using the Network Analysis (JASP 0.18.3). Results: Overall, 54.9% of adolescents adhered to the screen time guideline and no significant differences were observed between genders (p>0.05). Boys spent more time (hours/day) on VG (2.00 ± 1.71 vs. 1.27 ± 1.38; p<0.05) and PCL (1.53 ± 1.80 vs. 0.65 ± 1.04; p<0.05) compared to girls. The network configuration identified that PCL and VG screen devices were positively associated with BS for the non-compliant adolescents. However, the same devices showed a negative association for those compliant with the guideline. Smartphone use (met ST: -0.451; do no met ST: 0.358) and BMI (met ST: 1.317; do no met ST: 1.610) were the variables with the highest expected influence values in both groups. Conclusion: These results support the idea that specific media devices may have a positive effect on working memory, however, this association is distinct when ST is limited.