A new study finds that addiction to social media, mobile phones and video games is linked to a higher risk of suicidal thoughts and behaviors.
The study, published in JAMA on Wednesday, looked at data on more than 4,000 kids from an ongoing longitudinal study following them for years, starting at ages 9 to 10. It found that by age 14, about a third of the kids had become increasingly addicted to social media, about a quarter had become increasingly addicted to their mobile phone and more than 40% showed signs of addiction to video games.
"And these youth are significantly more likely to report suicidal behaviors and thoughts," says study author Yunyu Xiao, a professor at Weill Cornell Medicine in New York.
"It's an important study and raising awareness about screen addiction," says Dr. Jason Nagata, a pediatrician specializing in adolescent screen use at the University of California, San Francisco. "It shows that elements of addiction related to screen use are more strongly predictive of poorer mental health and even suicide risk compared to just screen time. So, I think that it provides more nuance."
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