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According to a new study published in the journal Preventive Medicine Reports, children who spend at least seven hours a day on screen are twice as likely to suffer from depression or anxiety than those who do not. use these screens only one hour a day.
This is disturbing as so many children spend so much time watching devices all day long. The research for the study was conducted as part of the Census Bureau's 2016 National Child Health Survey, conducted by more than 40,000 children aged 2 to 17 years. The good news is that young children do not usually spend more than seven hours a day on the screen. But about 20% of 14-17 year olds do so and many reports suggest that teens check their social media feeds almost constantly, as the Pew Research Center noted.
And if you think that the link between time spent in front of a screen and depression and anxiety is scary, the study also revealed that young people who spent at least seven hours a day on screens (without homework) were more easily distracted, less emotionally stable and had more problems finishing tasks and making friends. Interestingly, teens seemed to have more problems than younger ones because of the intensive use of the screen.
"At first, I was surprised that the associations were bigger for teens than for younger ones," Time Jean Twenge, lead author of the study and professor of psychology at San Diego State University told Time. "However, teens spend more time on their phones and on social media, and we know other research that these activities are more closely related to the loss of well-being than watching TV and videos, most time spent on screen for children. "
This latest research follows a study from 2017, published by the journal Clinical Psychological Science. This study of 5,000 North American teenagers found a strong link between the proliferation of smartphones and adolescent mental illness.
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