New longitudinal studies have shown that children who spend more time on screens, especially early on, on mobile phones and tablets, experience higher levels of stress and depressive symptoms as they enter puberty.
Eight years of study conducted in Finland and published in the journal Jama Network Openoffering fresh insights to parents who decide when to digitally provide digital access to their children, especially given the growing mental health challenges among young people.
Experts say a quarter to a third of adolescents around the world experience mental health problems, with the initial symptoms usually appearing over a decade.
Researchers consider this additional evidence that early fostering certain habits could serve as a buffer for future psychological distress, and that parents might want to limit screen time and encourage active play.
Screen and teen health
Scientists drew the data from Children’s physical activity and nutrition (Panic) Study, a project that tracked 187 Finnish children aged 6-9, between the ages of 15-16. Over the course of eight years, the team monitored participants’ physical activity, screening time, sleep patterns, and feeding behavior.
As teenagers, those same participants were subsequently evaluated for mental health using standardized measures of stress and depressive symptoms.
The findings revealed that more total screen time, particularly those teenagers who accumulate on mobile devices, showed significantly higher levels of stress and depression.
The role of physical activity
Encouraged, high levels of physical activity in childhood proved to have the opposite effect.
Teens who remained active in a particularly structured or supervised setting showed stronger mental health outcomes, even after considering factors such as body composition, adolescence stage, and parental educational background.
This trend was more pronounced among boys, with boys appearing to have a greater protective effect on exercise stress than girls.
On the other hand, this study did not show any significant links to teenage mental health in dietary quality and sleep duration. While this does not rule out the importance of overall well-being, it suggests that daily movements and minimized screen time may have a more pronounced effect on adolescent stress and depression levels.
Early interventions in screen habits
For those wary of early adoption of personal devices, the conclusions of this study are clear. Screen behaviour in childhood can echo in teenage years and shape emotional well-being. Researchers have emphasized their attention, particularly regarding the use of mobile devices.
A balanced approach appears to be the most important thing. Children combined with lower physical activity with more screen time resulted in the worst mental health outcomes.
This highlights that focusing only on one of these factors – reducing screen time or promoting regular exercise may be less effective than dealing with both at the same time.
The author also points out that supervised physical activity, such as team sports, has particularly strong benefits. This could encourage discussions about policies that increase children’s access to organized track and field events through schools and community programs.
The study further shows that mental health experts should consider conducting routine research into technology habits as part of their early intervention.
A changing technical landscape
Although the findings are not strictly causal, they emphasize the power of everyday choices in shaping long-term psychological outcomes. Given how quickly technology evolves, the author warns that this knowledge will become increasingly urgent.
Social media platforms and mobile gaming continue to expand, and as children are exposed to smartphones at younger ages, it is important to recognize how these patterns affect mental well-being.
In particular, the current generation may see even more negative consequences of digital consumption, as this study ended prior to the recent explosion in new social media apps.
That said, the basic point – the more screens and less physical activity, the more likely it is to predict a rough path to mental health, which is probably effective.
Research limitations and future directions
The eight-year time frame of this study provides valuable longitudinal data, but the final sample of 187 adolescents is small. The final group may not be entirely representative, as many participants dropped out midway.
Additionally, researchers tracked overall screen time, but did not distinguish between different types of screen exposure or social media content. Future research may look at what certain apps and games pose the best risk.
The study also measured sleep time, but left open questions about how nighttime devices use can impair rest and in turn impair mental health.
Most notably, the authors emphasize that data cannot prove that one factor directly causes the other factors. For example, it is possible that children who are already prone to stress and depression may be more attracted to screen use.
Yet, as mental health challenges in young demographics continue to increase, these findings can guide parents and care providers. Staying active for children may reduce some of their effects, but the broader message is that early-formed habits can shape the emotional landscape of teenagers in the coming years.
Essentially, the author advises parents to create a balanced digital environment, providing adequate opportunities for moderate device access and physical activity and social engagement.
Details of this study were published in Jama Network Open.
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