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Peter Dazeley / Getty Images
Peter Dazeley / Getty Images
Today, most teens own a smartphone and go online every day, and about a quarter of them use the Internet "almost constantly," according to a 2015 Pew report. Research Center
. suggests that this frequent use of digital media by teens could increase their chances of developing symptoms of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).
"It's one of the first studies on modern digital media and ADHD" Leventhal, an badociate professor of preventive medicine at the University of Southern California and an author of the 39; study.
Considered with previous research showing that greater use of social media is badociated with depression among adolescents, the new study suggests that media use does not appear to be good for [their] mental health, "he adds.
Previous research has shown that watching television or playing video games on a consul puts teens at a slightly higher risk of developing ADHD behaviors. But the impact of computers, tablets and smartphones is less well known.
Because these tools have evolved very quickly, little research has been done on the impact of these new technologies on us, says Jenny Radesky, a pediatrician at the University of Michigan. , who wrote an editorial on the new study for JAMA.
Every new platform reaches millions of people around the world in a matter of days or weeks, she says. "Angry birds have reached 50 million users in 35 days and Pokemon Go has reached the same number in 19 days."
Research on their effects has not been able to keep pace with technological change, she adds
. "I think it shows that something is happening, that there is an badociation, even if it's small, between these guys [these technologies are]," says Radesky. ] media use habits throughout the day with emergent inattention, concentration problems, resistance to distraction, control of your impulses.
The study followed 2,587 grade 10 students in Los Angeles County schools over two years. Adolescents showed no symptoms of ADHD at the beginning of the study. In the end, teens with more frequent use of digital media were more likely to have ADHD symptoms.
The researchers evaluated the students using a standardized questionnaire for the symptoms of ADHD, including nine symptoms each for inattention and hyperactivity. Students with six or more symptoms in one or the other category were considered to have symptoms of the disorder according to the criteria in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.
During the two years of the study, researchers interviewed adolescents every six months and asked them how often they participated in 14 types of online activities such as texting, sharing on social networks and video broadcasting. 19659006] Students reported how many of the 14 activities they did and how often (0, 1-2 times a week, 1-2 times a day or several times a day). If they did one activity several times, it counted as "high frequency use."
About half of the students said that they check the social media sites and text every day.
"These results show that teens are really attached to their technologies [digital] throughout the day," says Radesky, who did not participate in the new study. "It really captured the invasive design that so many of these mobile technologies have taken on."
Overall, students who frequently used six or more activities had a higher probability of developing ADHD symptoms.
For example, among the 51 students who often did all 14 activities online, 10.5 percent showed symptoms of ADHD during the study. And of the 114 adolescents who frequently had seven digital activities, 9.5 had symptoms. In contrast, only 4.6% of the 495 children who did not participate in any of the activities frequently had new symptoms of ADHD over the two-year period.
That is, teenagers who frequently used seven or 14 digital media, according to Leventhal, platforms were more than twice as likely to develop ADHD symptoms as teens who did not use any media platform at all. high frequency rate,
Leventhal is quick to warn that his study does not prove that being plugged into their devices causes ADHD in adults. teens. "We do not know," he says.
Showing the symptoms of ADHD is not the same as the diagnosis of ADHD, which is a multi-step process that involves a clinician in addition to the questionnaire. The study did not diagnose any of the children with ADHD
The study does not prove causality – it finds an badociation. Still, because the study involved students who did not show symptoms early, the results give rise to some concern, says Leventhal. "To have 10-ish percent [of the high frequency media users] the appearance of new symptoms is quite high," he says.
The beginning of the study with children who did not have ADHD at first was "a wise choice". Radesky notes. "It helps to reduce the situation of the chicken and the egg."
One of the highlights of the study is that it included a large number of adolescents from diverse backgrounds, because 'sociodemographic diversity was a limitation of the studies earlier on digital media, "she writes in the editorial of JAMA.
Although the study does not show that all children run the risk of developing attention and hyperactivity problems, "there is probably a sub-sample of children who are more vulnerable, "notes Radesky
. The study found that children with mental health problems were more likely to develop these symptoms.
"It's important because it's the kids who emotionally express themselves online," Radesky says. "They could engage in more online drama, get into more cyberbullying, and that can certainly deregulate and affect your ability to focus on things."
However, the study had some limitations, she notes.
"There are other things that change over time that could explain the results you see," she says. "In this case, they did not collect data on teenagers' sleep, they did not have information about the dynamics of the family at home, you know how much parents were involved … How many media are used at home? "
Previous studies have shown that the use of social media is badociated with disturbed sleep, which could affect children's ability to focus on the school and that could manifest itself with symptoms similar to ADHD. "Radesky
Radesky, who co-wrote the American Academy of Pediatrics Media Use Guidelines, says that She recommends that parents and their children pause and reflect on how they use the media, so that children can understand the benefits and pitfalls of their online habits.
"J & Would really like the teenagers scents develop a sense of technological know-how … so they do not all feel this pressure online constantly in order to feel the relevance or the social acceptance, "she says.
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