Children who often play with gadgets are prone to depression

Jakarta (ANTARA News) – Children who play with gadgets for seven hours or more a day are diagnosed twice as likely to be depressed or anxious than those who only stare at gadget screens for an hour a day, according to a study published in the journal “Preventive Medicine Reports”, quoted by Time, Monday (30/10).

The data comes from more than 40 thousand children ages two to 17 from the Census Bureau’s 2016 National Child Health Survey.

Around 20 percent of children aged 14 to 17 years spend seven hours or more on screens every day.

Along with the link between screen time and diagnoses of depression and anxiety, the study found that children who spent seven or more hours a day on screens (not including screen time) were more easily distracted, less emotionally stable and had more problems completing assignments and problems making friends compared to those who spend an hour a day on screens (not including when using gadgets to do schoolwork).

Many of these same negative trends are also emerging to a lesser extent among young people who use screens for four hours a day. Also, teenagers seem to have more problems than younger children due to heavy screen use.

Teenagers are said to have more problems than younger children due to longer use of gadgets.

“At first, I was surprised that the association was greater for teens than for younger children,” said Jean Twenge, the study’s lead author and a psychology professor at San Diego State University.

“However, teens are spending more time on their phones and on social media, and we know from other research that these activities are more closely linked to poor health than watching TV and videos, which younger children engage in more frequently.”

Twenge has spent the last several years examining the effects of digital technology on children’s health and well-being, much of which is documented in her book iGen.

Some of his recent work has linked newer forms of media — especially smartphones and social media — to sleep problems among teens.

He also found that children who spent more time on screens tended to be less happy than children who engaged in non-screen activities such as sports, reading traditional print media, or spending time socializing with friends face-to-face.

Her work contributes to a growing concern among some parents, teachers, counselors and doctors that teens spending too much time on screens — especially on cell phones — may be linked to recent increases in teen depression and suicide.

Twenge said his study showed a “clear and strong association” between more screen time and poorer health.

“Currently, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) guidelines set specific time limits on screen time only for children [usia] five years and younger,” he said.

“These and other findings suggest that the AAP should consider extending these specific limitations to older children and adolescents.

The AAP currently recommends that children ages 2-5 be allowed no more than one hour of screen time a day, not including time spent video chatting with family or friends.

But they don’t recommend limiting screen time specifically for older children.

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