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 Many pediatricians recommend that parents limit screen time to less
than two hours a day because excessive use of television, computers
and mobile devices is linked to obesity and other health problems
and is also thought to impair cognitive development.
For the current study, researchers analyzed data from previously
published studies involving more than 125,000 participants and found
evidence that limiting screen time makes sense for children and
young teens. Youth who spent at least five hours a day starting at
screens were 80 percent more likely to be depressed than their peers
who spent no time in front of screens.
There was, however, little difference in depression risk between
children who didn’t have any screen time and those who got about two
hours a day.
And the connection between screen time and depression was only
statistically meaningful for children under 14, the study found.
Screen time didn't appear connected to depression in older teens.
Overall, in smaller doses, screen time appeared to be a good thing.
Compared to children who had no screen time at all, those who got a
half hour daily were 8 percent less likely to be depressed and kids
allowed an hour a day had 12 percent lower odds.
“The finding of the lower depression risk with a relatively low
quantity of screen time may suggest that exposure to screen/media,
when in moderation, can have potentially positive impacts on
adolescents’ mental health,” said senior study author Dr. Yao
Shuqiao of the Medical Psychological Institute, Second Xiangya
Hospital of Central South University in Hunan, China.
Longer screen time may mean fewer hours in the day for more
productive or active endeavors, whether exercise or interacting with
friends, which may negatively affect physical and mental health,
Shuqiao added by email.
“We suggest that parents may consider limiting their children’s
screen time to under two hours a day, preferably about one hour,”
Shuqiao said.
The analysis included many observational studies, making it
difficult to rule out how other lifestyle factors might influence
depression risk, Shuqiao and colleagues acknowledge in the British
Journal of Sports Medicine. Measures of depression also weren’t
uniform across all of the studies used in the analysis.
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It’s also possible that the type of screen time matters, said Dr.
Larry Rosen, professor emeritus at California State University
Dominguez Hills.
While passive activities like watching television may be linked to a
greater depression risk, active pursuits like texting on mobile
phones or chatting on social media don’t necessarily carry the same
risk, Rosen, who wasn’t involved in the study, said by email.
When it comes to screen time and depression, “what is most important
is what that time is used for and how long it is used without
breaks,” Rosen said.
It’s not surprising that the teens who had only moderate amounts of
screen time had a lower risk of depression than their peers who got
none at all because the youth who used devices in moderation may
have an overall more balanced life, said Gary Goldfield, a
psychology researcher at the University of Ottawa who wasn’t
involved in the study.
“People with such low levels of screen time are probably engaged in
many other activities, such as organized sport, dance, music or
other hobbies that involve interpersonal interaction, which may
protect them from depression,” Goldfield said by email.
SOURCE: http://bit.ly/1Ike3EC British Journal of Sports Medicine,
online November 9, 2015.
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