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For years, we've been concerned about the impact of technology on youth mental health, often assuming that increased screen time—especially on social media—was linked to more mental health problems. But a recent study I came across challenges this narrative in an interesting way.
This research followed 388 adolescents from early to mid-adolescence, tracking their digital technology use through a combination of an initial survey (2015) and a 14-day ecological momentary assessment (EMA) in 2016–2017, with over 13,000 real-time data points collected.
Link to article: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/2167702619859336
Here’s what they found:
1. No long-term effect: Adolescents’ technology use in 2015 didn’t predict later mental health symptoms. It seems that early technology use doesn’t necessarily shape future mental health outcomes.
2. No daily fluctuations: On days when adolescents reported using more or less technology, their mental health didn’t show significant differences. It appears that daily tech use wasn’t directly associated with immediate changes in mental health.
3. No "too much or too little" effect: There was no support for the idea that mental health worsens on days with either minimal or excessive technology use.
4. No greater risk for vulnerable adolescents: Even those at higher risk for mental health issues didn’t show increased symptoms on days with higher technology use.
It seems that digital technology use as a whole might not be the major factor we’ve been thinking it is in terms of adolescent mental health. However, this raises an important question: Could it be that specific types of technology—like social media—are the real culprits behind mental health challenges?
These findings suggest that it's not necessarily the amount of technology use, but rather the kind (e.g., social comparison, cyberbullying, or other toxic elements on social media), that might have a more detrimental effect on youth mental health.
As we continue to explore these complex issues, it’s important to look beyond the general narrative and focus on what aspects of technology use truly affect mental health.
