COVID-19, Sedentary Lifestyle, and Technology: How has technology shaped our kid’s life?

Project Objective:
The project study involves investigating the correlation between screen time and a sedentary lifestyle in kids, ages ranging
from infants to adolescents as a product of COVID-19. As technological advancements have paved their way into the
lifestyles of households around the world, the rise of a dependency of devices especially on phones, tablets and computer
has risen. With school and other events being pushed online, the reason to be on a computer or a device has been widened
as well. The correlation between the usage of these devices and the sedentary lifestyle is something that is worthy of being
drawn.
Project Background:
By highlighting the correlation between screen time and a sedentary lifestyle, doctors, parents, teachers, and professors
will be aware of what is the potential of having a lifestyle that is so heavily influenced by technology. The sedentary
lifestyle is detrimental to someone in their youth, and I hope that my research is able to highlight some commonalities
between the trends I will describe and the lifestyle of an average person in an average household. This study is of
importance in today’s day and age due to the post-COVID society that was once purely online. COVID forced everything
online and confined many people to their respective homes not leaving them much to do except scroll on their phones,
watch movies, and stare at a screen for their entertainment. Before COVID, people were able to go out freely and their
errands and other commitments would take up their time and sitting and scrolling on their phone, computer or watching
TV would be something that is a downtime or leisurely activity. However, once COVID struck the society, errands
disappeared and everything that had to be done in person, was suddenly possible to do online. This instilled a
complacency and comfort in the general public and after COVID lightened up, some people never reverted back to the
lifestyle they had before COVID and the dependency on their technology only grew stronger.
The objective of this study is to find the correlation between a sedentary lifestyle and the screen time of children ranging
from kids to adolescents. Many researchers observe the correlation in adults but disregard how we are setting up our youth
for the same life. How can we break the cycle of sedentary lifestyles due to technology growing up in the same sedentary
lifestyle? Researchers such as Ramsey Buchanan have noted the effectiveness of intervention apps on the devices itself
and found that to be successful, and Tandon was able to draw a conclusion between screen time in kids and their
socioeconomic status, but I am interested in drawing a conclusion between the screen time and sedentary lifestyle in kids
in the tail end of the COVID pandemic.
Research Methods:
To execute research for this project, I will have to consider locations in the United States where COVID has affected more
than others. This is important because some cities in the US have been online for longer or COVID has affected that
neighborhood to a larger extent; whether it be due to local government restrictions, or the number of cases have been
greater than the other neighboring counties. The fact that some neighborhoods have been online longer than others could
result in an outlier value when polling for data. Once after I have considered the special locations, I will use a stratified
random sample to sort the elementary to high school students in sub-groups per grade. Once the students are in groups, I
will randomly pick from the strata and form a sample. This process is important because this correlation will vary
depending on age and academic requirements. Each grade will have a different set of academic requirements and that
could affect the amount of screen time each student would have doing assignments and such. Age will also be a factor
because some kids are just simply restricted as to what they can and cannot do due to their age, forcing them to be at home
and inadvertently on a screen, raising their screen time. To get an accurate measurement, I would focus on two states in
each time zone in the US. The polling would take place in: Anchorage (AK), Honululu (HI), Sacramento (CA), Portland
(OR), Salt Lake City (UT), Denver (CO), Houston (TX), Springfield (IL), New York City (NY), and Jacksonville (FL).
Here is a brief timeline:

- January 8th – 10th : Develop a survey for each of the strata in each grade, and develop a program to track and
record the results.
- January 11th – 18th: Deploy surveys in Anchorage and Honululu.
- January 19th – 25th: Deploy surveys in Sacramento and Portland.
- January 26th – February 1st: Deploy surveys in Salt Lake City and Denver.
 - February 2nd – 8th: Deploy surveys Houston and Springfield.
- February 9th – 15th: Deploy surveys in New York City and Jacksonville.
- February 16th - March 16th: Compile and Analyze data.
- March 16th – April 16th: Draft and Finalize report.

Expected Outcome:
This study can be delivered in multiple formats, depending on the time of the year the report is finalized and ready to be
presented. I could make this into a poster board, a scholarly article, or a white paper. I think the best way to present my
findings would be a poster board at an Undergraduate Research conference. This will be the best way to present since I
can be able to effectively present the results that I have gathered based off age and grade level. This study will be able to
provide the knowledge of executing polls, sampling and also gather an insight of how of people in other places were
affected by COVID-19 through the school year. The study would be able to provide me with an understanding of other
cities and their schooling system. These results and new insight could be really beneficial for the UCF community for
students to compare and relate with the students that may or may not have a sedentary lifestyle due to an overdependency
on technology. I expect to see a positive correlation between a sedentary lifestyle and screen time as well as noticing the
differences in my life post COVID and the lifestyle of the other kids my age and younger. Because I am only polling in
ten different cities, most of which are capitals of their respective states, I am expecting results that will be a bit of an
overestimate of how the national average will be. The cities I chose are the biggest in their respective states and due to this
they will most likely have more restrictions due to COVID resulting in some kids to be forced inside and such. However,
this study will be a good foundation for a step in the right direction for kids to get out of their houses and not have the
sedentary lifestyle that has been forced upon them by the circumstances of the world.
Literature Review:
1. Abhari, Kaveh, and Isaac Vaghefi. “Screen Time and Productivity: An Extension of Goal-Setting Theory to
Explain Optimum Smartphone Use.” Association for Information Systems transactions on human-computer
interaction 14.3 (2022): 254–. Web.
2.  Ramsey Buchanan, Leigh et al. “Reducing Recreational Sedentary Screen Time: A Community Guide Systematic
Review.” American journal of preventive medicine 50.3 (2016): 402–415. Web.
3.  K Kaye, Linda et al. “The Conceptual and Methodological Mayhem of ‘Screen Time.’” International journal of
environmental research and public health 17.10 (2020): 3661–. Web.
4.   Tandon, Pooja S et al. “Home Environment Relationships with Children’s Physical Activity, Sedentary Time,
and Screen Time by Socioeconomic Status.” The international journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity
9.1 (2012): 88–88. Web.
5. Degirmenci, N. et al. “MON-P224: Consumption of Energy Drinks Among Norwegian Adolescents; Excessive
Consumption Is Determined by Male Gender, High Screen Time, Sedentary Lifestyle and Low Socio-Economic
Status.” Clinical nutrition (Edinburgh, Scotland) 36 (2017): S260–S261. Web.
Preliminary Work and Experience:
In college and high school, I have taken statistic courses educating me in polling and how to avoid bias in them. The
curriculum covered Stratified Random Sample, Random Samples, and other sort of polling methods. Those skills learned
in those classes will definitely help me carry out multiple polls and avoid any sort of sample bias or polling bias. In terms
of deploying and making the surveys, I can write a program to display the survey and also record it by using my skills
learned in my Computer Science classes. As per the questions, the statistic and communication classes I have taken, have
prepared me to properly phrase questions that do not have implicit or explicit bias in them and not nudge the students to
some answer.
IRB/IACUC statement:
This study will not need an IACUC approval but will need an IRB approval as I am dealing with humans.
Budget:
This project will not need any funding.