The relationship among media multitasking, academic performance and self-esteem in Chinese adolescents: the cross-lagged panel and mediation analyses

Concerns about the negative impact of media multitasking on people's learning and psychological aspects, such as well-being and self-esteem, have increased in the last decade. However, the contradictory findings of previous cross-sectional studies have caused much debate. Methodological improvements are urgently needed to determine whether media multitasking has causal effects. This study used a cross-lagged panel design to explore the relationships between media multitasking, academic performance and self-esteem in a sample of Chinese adolescents. Two waves of data with a six-month interval were collected from 447 Chinese adolescents (40.7% boys, mean age = 15.0). The data were analysed, and the results indicated that media multitasking negatively correlated with academic performance but not self-esteem; the relationship between self-esteem and academic performance was reciprocal; and academic performance may mediate the relationship between media multitasking and self-esteem. The implications of this study were also discussed.