Screen Time and Teens

From NPR:

A new report from the United Nations Children's Fund, or UNICEF, surveys the online experiences of children and youth around the world. They found that adolescents and young people are the most connected generation and that children under 18 represent 1 in 3 Internet users worldwide. Digital resources are expanding access to education and work, and in some places, young people are using them to become more civically engaged.

But there are serious harms — such as sexual abuse, child pornography and sex trafficking — that are exacerbated by the Internet, especially in the developing world. And in the developed world, there are emerging concerns about the ties between Internet use and mental health problems like anxiety and depression. The key, say the authors of the UNICEF report, is "taking a Goldilocks approach" — not too much, not too little — and "focusing more on what children are doing online and less on how long they are online." (Read more.)

From Mashable:

 The coauthors' analysis also suggests a link between increased social media and depression. In both cases, the effect on girls was noticeable, but it didn't really materialize for boys, who've also seen an uptick in the rate of suicide and depression.

"There’s definitely something going on in the mental health of teens today, and it started around 2011 and 2012," says Jean Twenge, the study's lead author and a San Diego State University psychology professor.

As the author of iGen: Why Today’s Super-Connected Kids Are Growing Up Less Rebellious, More Tolerant, Less Happy—and Completely Unprepared for Adulthood—and What That Means for the Rest of Us, Twenge has made a career out of arguing that the something is the rise of screen time and social media. 

While her new study lends credence to that theory, other researchers say it sows unwarranted doubt and alarm for teens and their parents. Pete Etchells, a lecturer in biological psychology at Bath Spa University in the U.K., called for "more sense and less hype" in a Guardian column about the study. 

Amy Orben, a social media psychologist and college lecturer at The Queens College at the University of Oxford, wrote a Medium post criticizing Twenge's study for drawing "grand conclusions with widespread implications using such weak and inconsistent links." (Read more.)

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