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Abstract

While previous research has extensively investigated the impact of screen-use experiences on infants' cognitive and social development, recent studies have paid limited attention to the diversity of infants' screen-use experiences. Moreover, little research has explored whether these screen-use experiences affect infants' social responses to strangers in videos. This study filled these gaps by examining the screen-use experiences of 17- to 20-month-old infants and their potential influence on social interactions within an online task. Infants participated in an online video task showing a stranger pretending to interact with the infants. Infants’ arousal and valence levels during video task were coded to assess their social responses. Additionally, parents reported infants' daily screen-use experiences (video chatting, video watching, and video game playing) and temperament (social fear level). Descriptive analyses revealed infants' frequent engagement in video chatting and watching from an early age, accompanied by various social interaction activities (e.g. waving, pointing) during these screen activities. Confirmatory and exploratory linear mixed models were employed to examine the relationship between screen-use experiences and infants' social responses to the stranger in videos, considering the moderating effect of temperament. Contrary to the hypothesis, screen-use experiences were generally not related to infants’ social responses in the online task. However, infants' temperament moderated the relationship between the duration of video chatting and their social responses, with longer durations diminishing the effect of social fear on the valence of infants' responses. Furthermore, infants may perceive online tasks and video chatting as similar formats, as significant results were found considering association among video chatting, temperament, and social responses. Thus, individual differences in screen use may not warrant consideration when conducting online studies with infants.

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