ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Med.
Sec. Healthcare Professions Education
Digital Media Use and Cognitive Networks in Medical Students: Linking Screen Time with Intelligence and Academic Performance
Alejandro Hernández Chávez 1
Julian Uriarte-Ortiz 1
Antonio Barajas Martínez 2
Raúl Sampieri-Cabrera 1
1. National Autonomous University of Mexico, México City, Mexico
2. Tecnologico de Monterrey, Monterrey, Mexico
Select one of your emails
You have multiple emails registered with Frontiers:
Notify me on publication
Please enter your email address:
If you already have an account, please login
You don't have a Frontiers account ? You can register here
Abstract
Introduction: Digital media use has expanded rapidly among medical students, raising concerns about its impact on cognitive function and academic achievement. However, specific links between screen time and distinct facets of cognition (such as fluid vs. crystallized intelligence), as well as their combined impact on academic performance, remain underexplored in medical education Purpose: This study explored how digital screen time and related behaviors are associated with different dimensions of intelligence (fluid and crystallized), attention, and academic performance in second-year medical students, using a network analysis approach. Methods: A cross-sectional sample of 305 second-year medical students from the Faculty of Medicine, UNAM, recruited during the 2023 academic year, completed standardized assessments: the Shipley-2 test for crystallized (Gc) and fluid intelligence (Gf), the Youth Screen Time Survey, and official academic records (standardized Physiology course exam scores). Network analysis was implemented through the igraph package in R to identify structural relationships among 34 variables representing cognitive, behavioral, and academic domains. Results: The network analysis identified six clusters of interrelated variables, revealing distinct groupings linking digital behavior, cognitive abilities, and academic outcomes. Key variables with the highest connectivity (centrality) were the number of failed courses, total screen time, and age, indicating these factors are most influential in the network. Notably, text messaging and short-form video use (e.g., TikTok) emerged as bridge nodes connecting digital media use to academic performance. Higher screen time was associated with lower academic performance (r ≈ –0.24) and reduced fluid intelligence, while crystallized intelligence appeared relatively unaffected Discussion: Excessive digital exposure was associated with weaker cognitive efficiency and academic performance in this cross-sectional sample. These findings underscore the need for balanced digital habits to support attention, learning, and problem-solving capacity in medical students.
Summary
Keywords
academic performance, Attention, crystallized intelligence, digital media use, fluid intelligence, Intelligence, Medical Education, Network analysis
Received
30 October 2025
Accepted
27 January 2026
Copyright
© 2026 Hernández Chávez, Uriarte-Ortiz, Barajas Martínez and Sampieri-Cabrera. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
*Correspondence: Raúl Sampieri-Cabrera
Disclaimer
All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.