Teen Depression Linked to Excessive Screen Time, Study Shows

By Kristinova V. Justimbaste, Christian Post Contributor Thursday, November 16, 2017

A new study shows that depression and suicide-related behavior in teens might be linked to increased time spent in front of computers, cell phones, tablets, and the like.

Published in "Clinical Psychological Science," the recent study suggests that increased screen time might be linked to the spike in mental health issues in teens between 2010 and 2015, particularly girls.

Led by Jean Twenge, a professor of psychology at San Diego State University, SDSU graduate student Gabrielle Martin and colleagues Thomas Joiner and Megan Rogers from Florida State University examined datasheets from over 500,000 U.S. teens. They also went through suicide statistics recorded by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

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The researchers found that teens who indicated an excessive daily use of electronic devices were more likely to report symptoms of severe depression. They discovered that suicide rates for girls ages 13 to 18 increased by 65 percent between 2010 and 2015. They also noted a 12 percent increase in suicide-related behavior among teenage girls, which includes thoughts about suicide, planning suicide, and actually attempting it. Additionally, they observed a 58 percent increase in reported cases of severe depression among these young girls.

Effects were more noticeable on girls than with boys, who have also seen an escalating rate of suicide and depression.

Through an analysis of the statistical correlation between mental health issues and screen-time, researchers were able to find that 48 percent of teens who spent over five hours a day on electronic devices reported at least one suicide-related outcome.

Amy Orben, a social media psychologist and lecturer at The Queens College, Oxford, challenged the study's findings. She said the study produced grand conclusions using weak as well as inconsistent links.

Twenge does not deny that the study does not prove causation. She acknowledges that a different metric is unlikely to produce an indisputable correlation between mental health and online activity. On the other hand, a different metric used in another study only produced larger effects.

"I disagree with idea of telling people not to worry until we have proof," Twenge says. "We've got to figure out what's going on here."