Too much time glued to screens could lead to suicidal behaviour in children, a new study reveals. Each additional hour of screen time is linked with a nine per cent higher risk of suicidal behaviour two years later among children aged nine to 11. In particular, an extra hour watching videos, playing video games, texting, and video chatting can have a worrying impact.
Senior author, Dr Jason Nagata, an assistant professor of paediatrics at the University of California, San Francisco, said: “Screen usage could lead to social isolation, cyberbullying, and sleep disruption, which could worsen mental health. More time on screens often displaces time for in person socialising, physical activity, and sleep.”
According to The Health Foundation: “Among those aged six to 16 in England, one in six had a probable mental health condition in 2021, up from one in nine in 2017."
The study builds upon existing knowledge surrounding the youth mental health crisis. The researchers analysed data from the nationwide Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development study, the largest long-term study of brain development in the US.
They collected screen time data for 11,633 children between nine and 11 years-old. Each child was followed for two years. The children answered questions about their time spent using screens as well as suicidal behaviours.
Co-author Dr Kyle Ganson, an assistant professor at the University of Toronto’s Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work, said: "The study was conducted mostly prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, but its findings are especially relevant now since youth mental health worsened during the pandemic."
According to the team, adolescent screen time doubled to nearly eight hours a day at the start of the pandemic.
Dr Nagata said: "Screen time can have important benefits such as education and socialisation, but parents should try to mitigate adverse mental health risks from excessive screen time. Parents should regularly talk to their children about screen usage and role model screen behaviours.”
The study was published in the journal Preventive Medicine.
