Children's media comprehension: The relationship between media platform, executive functioning abilities, and age

Children's media comprehension was compared for material presented on television, computer, or touchscreen tablet. One hundred and thirty-two children were equally distributed across 12 groups defined by age (4- or 6-years-olds), gender, and the three media platforms. Executive functioning as measured by attentional control, cognitive flexibility, and working memory capacity was used as a control variable.;The same PBS cartoon story was presented through each of the three media platforms, Children's comprehension of the story was significantly greater in the touchscreen tablet condition and television condition compared to the computer condition. As expected, comprehension was greater for older children and those with higher executive functioning abilities. In particular, working memory capacity was a strong predictor of children's media comprehension while attentional control and cognitive flexibility were not significant predictors.;No statistically significant interactions were found with the type of media. Executive functioning was predictive of media comprehension on each media platform (N = 44 for all tests of correlations). Working memory capacity and a response time measure of attentional control were both significantly correlated with the comprehension of information presented on each of the three media platforms. A response time of cognitive flexibility was associated with the comprehension of information presented on the television and touchscreen tablet, and an accuracy measure of cognitive flexibility was associated with the comprehension of information presented on computer and touchscreen tablet.;When using technology for learning purposes, touchscreen tablets may be better suited for young children compared to computers. Experience with touchscreen tablets was significantly correlated with media comprehension; the more experience children had, the greater their media comprehension compared to children with less experience. Accordingly, effectiveness of touchscreen tablets as a learning tool may be improved through direct instruction on how to use these devices, especially for children with limited touchscreen experience...