A young man uses his mobile device. A new study from the University of Southern California found that ADHD in adolescents could be linked to excessive use of digital media (1965: 00006) SAN FRANCISCO – Teens who frequently use digital media are more likely to develop their attention. -deficiency / hyperactivity, according to a new study.
In 2014, scientists from the University of Southern California, led by Adam Leventhal, Professor of Preventive Medicine and Psychology and Director of the USC Health Lab, Emotion and Addiction's Keck School of Medicine. The USC undertook a two-year study to determine whether the number and frequency of digital media use among adolescents was associated with the onset of ADHD
. as likely to develop new ADHD symptoms over two years as teenagers who used social media the least.
"This study raises the question of whether the proliferation of high performance digital media technologies can put a new generation of youth at risk for ADHD," Leventhal said.
ADHD is a disease that persists in maintaining attention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity, according to the study. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that 6.1 million, or nearly one in ten children in the United States, have ADHD
Previous studies have examined whether television and video games have an effect on ADHD. the advent of new digital media that is "constantly available via mobile devices, and able to provide fast stimulation of high intensity," the scientists wrote.
The results of the study have ramifications for parents, teachers, doctors, and technology companies. A recent Common Sense Media survey found that teens spend nearly nine hours a day using online media, and a separate survey released last month by the CDC found that 43% of teens use digital media three hours a day. or more per day.
Over a two-year period, USC scientists studied 2,587 high school students aged 15 to 16 in Los Angeles County from schools of various socio-economic and demographic statuses. Only students who did not have ADHD symptoms were selected for the survey.
Scientists surveyed eligible students in the fall of 2014 to obtain baseline data and then conducted follow-up surveys every six months over a 24-month period. hoping to find out if the use of digital media in grade 10 was associated with the symptoms of ADHD followed in grade 12.
Students were asked how often they use 14 popular digital media platforms: social media, streaming video, text messaging, music downloads, and online chat rooms. , among others. They also asked questions related to common symptoms of ADHD.
They found that 9.5% of the 114 children who used half of the digital media platforms frequently and 10.5% of the 51 children who used the 14 platforms frequently had new ADHD symptoms.
In contrast, 4.6% of the 495 students were not frequent users of any digital activity showed symptoms of ADHD, on the background rate of the disorder in the general population.
The results appeared Tuesday in a report published in the Journal of the American Medical Association .
The researchers concluded that: "Among adolescents followed over 2 years, there was a statistically significant but modest association between a higher frequency of digital media use and subsequent symptoms of ADHD." [19659007] Use causes ADHD or if adolescents who develop ADHD use digital media more than those who do not.
"Further research is needed to determine if this association is causal," they wrote.
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