Heightened anxiety, depression, aggression and impulsiveness in vulnerable adolescents can be attributed to prolonged screen time, specifically passive scrolling, according to a new Western study.
Approximately 45 per cent of study participants, without any prior mental health conditions, reported heightened anxiety in the clinical range, which indicates a need for further medical evaluation, regardless of time spent on screens.
Emma Duerden
“This is really quite surprising,” said Western professor Emma Duerden, Canada Research Chair in Neuroscience and Learning Disorders and senior author of the study. “It is much higher than what we would expect to see. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, rates of anxiety in the adolescent population were somewhere between 8 and 15 per cent. Now, we see almost half of the sample size reporting heightened anxiety, which is obviously alarming and needs to be addressed.”
The study also showed exceeding two hours of screen time on weekdays doubled the odds of clinically elevated anxiety and quadrupled the odds of experiencing emotional and behavioural difficulties.
The findings were published May 9 in the journal Computers in Human Behavior.
In the study, 580 adolescents aged 12 to17 participated in a nine-month online survey. Pre-existing vulnerabilities such as mental health conditions, as well as screen use, demographic data, emotional and behavioural difficulties and levels of perceived anxiety were collected using self-report questionnaires.
Time spent on screens during weekdays and weekends, as well as screen-use behaviours such as frequency, total time, posting content on social media and passive scrolling were tracked in the study and analyzed. Passive scrolling resoundingly had the strongest negative influence on adolescents.
“Passive scrolling is a major concern. We get sucked in and time just disappears. For the teens we surveyed, passive scrolling heightens their anxiety and really impacts their mental health,” said Duerden, an education professor and associate director of the Western Institute for Neuroscience. “It’s also associated with boredom, which can lead to frustration, aggression and even impulsive behaviour. Passive scrolling also maximizes the viewing of inappropriate content and making destructive social comparisons.”
The study suggests managing screen time and increased physical activity may help support adolescent well-being, but Duerden understands it’s not so easy to just put down your phone.
“In past studies, we’ve shown some teens reporting 15 hours of screen time a day. They wake up, go on a screen and stay the whole day,” said Duerden. “But reducing cell phone use is easier said than done. I think cell phone bans in schools are key. Getting outside and being part of the real world is also important. We all just need to take a break from our phones for our mental and overall well-being.”
