A study was published in the journal Clinical Psychological Science on May 3, 2021. The study was titled: “There Is No Digital Evidence That Associations Between Adolescent’s Digital Technology Engagement and Mental Health Problems Have Increased”. The results of the study may bring peace of mind to parents who worry about the amount of time their teenagers spend online.
The Abstract of the study explains: Digital technology is ubiquitous in modern adolescence, and researchers are concerned that it has negative impacts on mental health that, furthermore, increase over time. To investigate whether technology is becoming more harmful, we examined changes in associations between technology engagement and mental health in three nationally representative samples. Results were mixed across types of technology and mental health outcomes.
It continues: Technology engagement has become less strongly associated with depression in the past decade, but social-media use had become more strongly associated with emotional problems. We detected no changes in five other associations or differential associations by sex.
There is therefore little evidence for increases in the associations between adolescents’ technology engagement and mental health.
The study included a combined total of 430,561 participants from data sets of adolescents from the United States and the United Kingdom. They limited the analysis to include only participants who were between the ages of 10 and 15 years old. Each study provided self-reported information about depression, or externalizing or internalizing mental health problems, or a measurement of depressive mood and suicidal ideation. The information in the data sets was collected over a 30 year period.
Parents should be aware that the results of this study was based on adolescents. The results do not apply to younger children or toddlers. It is still a good idea to check in our your tweens and teens and ask how they are feeling.
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