Screen addiction and suicidal behaviors are linked for teens, a study shows

The study asked astir signs of addiction to mobile phones, societal media and video games. Those signs tin see being preoccupied reasoning astir them and being incapable to trim down connected utilizing them. Catherine McQueen/Moment RF/Getty Images hide caption

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Catherine McQueen/Moment RF/Getty Images

If you aliases personification you cognize is successful crisis, interaction nan 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline via call, matter aliases chat.

A caller study finds that addiction to societal media, mobile phones and video games is linked to a higher consequence of suicidal thoughts and behaviors.

The study, published successful JAMA connected Wednesday, looked astatine information connected much than 4,000 kids from an ongoing longitudinal study pursuing them for years, starting astatine ages 9 to 10. It recovered that by property 14, astir a 3rd of nan kids had go progressively addicted to societal media, astir a 4th had go progressively addicted to their mobile telephone and much than 40% showed signs of addiction to video games.

"And these younker are importantly much apt to study suicidal behaviors and thoughts," says study writer Yunyu Xiao, a professor astatine Weill Cornell Medicine successful New York.

"It's an important study and raising consciousness astir surface addiction," says Dr. Jason Nagata, a pediatrician specializing successful teen surface usage astatine nan University of California, San Francisco. "It shows that elements of addiction related to surface usage are much powerfully predictive of poorer intelligence wellness and moreover termination consequence compared to conscionable surface time. So, I deliberation that it provides much nuance."

A ample study known arsenic ABCD

Xiao and her colleagues utilized information from a large-scale ongoing longitudinal study called nan Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study. It's been pursuing thousands of kids complete nan years, and assessing them periodically for some their mean regular surface clip arsenic good arsenic for symptoms of addiction, which besides allowed them to spot really these addictive behaviors changed complete time.

They assessed addiction pinch a standardized questionnaire asking them to respond to statements like, "'I walk a batch of clip reasoning astir societal media apps aliases readying to usage nan societal media apps,'" explains Xiao. "'I effort to usage nan societal media app less, but I can't.' And besides 'I consciousness stressed and aliases upset if I americium not allowed to usage my societal media apps' aliases 'I usage it truthful overmuch already it has a bad effect connected my schoolwork.'"

Her squad was capable to group nan teens based connected really these answers changed complete time.

With societal media, they recovered that almost 60% had debased levels of addiction to societal media and that stayed unchangeable complete nan years. But astir a tenth had expanding addiction that peaked astir twelvemonth 3 and 4 of nan study, and a 3rd showed expanding addiction.

With mobile telephone use, astir half showed precocious addiction and a 4th had expanding addiction. With video games, they recovered only 2 groups — pinch astir 60% showing debased addiction that stayed unchangeable complete time, and 41% were highly addicted to it done nan period.

Questions astir suicidal behavior

The study besides evaluated suicidal thoughts and behaviors. It uses a questionnaire that asked astir passive and progressive thoughts of suicide, arsenic good arsenic immoderate termination attempts. At twelvemonth 4 of nan study, astir 18% reported having had suicidal thoughts, and 5% admitted to suicidal behaviors, which includes making termination plans and attempts.

The groups pinch precocious and expanding addiction to mobile telephone and societal media were associated pinch a higher consequence of suicidal thoughts and behaviors. The highly addictive group for video games besides had a higher consequence of suicidal thoughts and behaviors compared to nan group pinch debased addictive use. However, full surface clip was not linked to a higher termination risk.

"What amazed america is that these are important groups, and they are associated pinch 2 to 3 times [risk] of suicidal behaviors," says Xiao.

Screen clip is not inherently bully aliases bad

Researchers, educators, and parents often constituent to nan magnitude of clip teens walk connected their screens to gauge problematic use, opportunity Xiao and Nagata.

"We each get reports from our phones astir our play surface time," says Nagata. "Screen clip is an easy understandable metric because it's minutes aliases hours a time that we're spending connected screens."

But, he adds, surface clip isn't inherently bully aliases bad, truthful he welcomes nan nuance this study adds to nan speech since it flags signs of addiction.

"Some kids mightiness walk their clip connected surface reference nan news, and immoderate mightiness beryllium trolling immoderate beautiful vulnerable sites," says scientist Mitch Prinstein, a professor astatine University of North Carolina astatine Chapel Hill. "So it's really difficult to cognize what to make of surface clip arsenic a consequence factor."

That's why surface clip unsocial is "not a adjuvant measure," says scientist Mary Alvord. It's much important to understand really a teen is utilizing their surface time.

"They whitethorn beryllium talking to a friend, but are they talking to a friend I-R-L, aliases are they talking to an avatar created by AI?" says Alvord. "And are they utilizing screens to debar things successful existent life?"

Avoidance of existent life is simply a reddish flag

One of nan statements successful nan addictive usage questionnaire is: "I play video games truthful I tin hide astir my problems."

"Avoidance is simply a cardinal denotation of some worry and depression," says Alvord, and it is revelatory astir a teen's intelligence wellness position and narration pinch video games aliases screens successful general.

"We're starting to really effort and understand what are nan circumstantial features aliases nan circumstantial behaviors that mightiness beryllium much concerning," explains Prinstein, who has co-chaired nan American Psychological Association's advisory sheet connected societal media usage successful adolescents. "And nan grade to which kids say, 'I can't extremity moreover erstwhile I'm trying to. I'm having withdrawal, dependence, tolerance symptoms,' that's important."

Nagata has besides utilized information from nan ABCD study to understand really teens are utilizing societal media complete clip and really that's affecting their consequence of intelligence wellness symptoms.

"One point that was really striking to maine is that, unfortunately, these symptoms of surface addictions are really beautiful common," says Nagata. He besides recovered that immoderate of nan symptoms get much communal complete time.

He and his colleagues recovered that 47.5% of 11-12 twelvemonth olds said that "I suffer way of really overmuch I americium utilizing my phone," 22.5% said "I walk a batch of clip reasoning astir societal media apps aliases readying my usage of societal media apps" and 18.4% said "I usage societal media apps truthful I tin hide astir my problems."

By property 12-13, 25% said they usage societal media to hide astir their problems, and 25% admitted to spending a sizeable magnitude of clip reasoning astir societal media apps.

Using nan aforesaid information from nan ABCD study, he and his colleagues besides recovered that clip connected societal media accrued for preteens complete nan people of nan study. "At nan opening of nan study, nan mean clip was only 7 minutes a day, but 4 years later, nan mean clip was complete 70 minutes a day."

And nan much clip these kids spent connected societal media, nan much their depressive symptoms increased.

"Parents, teachers, clinicians should be, connected nan lookout for informing signs for surface addictions, peculiarly arsenic they whitethorn subordinate to higher slump consequence aliases termination consequence successful teenagers," Nagata says.