WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - A study, following a diverse group of kids in the U.S. for two years, revealed that increased screen time was linked to risks of mental problems such as depression, anxiety, inattention and aggression.
Conducted by University of California San Francisco, the research found that the average time spent each day on screens for non-educational reasons is now 5.5 hours for tweens and 8.5 hours for teens.
'Screen use may replace time spent engaging in physical activity, sleep, socializing in-person and other behaviors that reduce depression and anxiety,' said the lead author Jason Nagata, associate professor at UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital's Division of Adolescent and Young Adult Medicine.
The research, involving over 9,500 children, indicated that the COVID-19 pandemic worsened the mental health among adolescents, with 42 percent of high school students reporting persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness, which is a 50 percent increase from 2011.
Moreover, White adolescents showed significantly stronger associations between screen time and symptoms of depression, attention-deficit/hyperactivity and oppositional defiant disorder compared to Black adolescents. They also had stronger associations between screen time and depressive symptoms compared to Asian adolescents.
'For minority adolescents, screens and social media may play a different role, serving as important platforms to connect with peers who share similar backgrounds and experiences,' Nagata said.
'Rather than displacing in-person relationships, technology may help them expand their support networks beyond what's accessible in their immediate environment.'
The lead author also advised parents to develop a Family Media Use Plan to mitigate the negative effects of screen time on mental health.
The study, published in BMC Public Health, concluded, 'Video chat, texting, videos, and video games were the screen types with the greatest associations with depressive symptoms. Future research should examine potential mechanisms linking screen use with child behavior problems.'
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