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There have been many recent warnings about the psychological impact of relentless smartphone and social media use on young Americans. Many 21st-century parents know how hard it is to limit screen time for their kids, especially teenagers.
“Social media, video game, and smartphone use in kids and teens has risen, and there’s a growing chorus of concerns about screen time’s link to mental health concerns,” wrote Beth Ann Mayer on Parents.com. “It’s prompted legislation, including phone bans in some schools. The focus is often on the ‘time’ part. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) advises against any screen time other than video chats for infants and young toddlers and limited use with adult co-viewing for young kids.”
A new JAMA study, however, suggests that it’s less about the time a child spends on screens and more about whether technology use becomes addictive. The study was led by researchers at Weill Cornell Medicine, Columbia University, and University of California, Berkeley.
Xiao, Meng, Brown, et al found that “high or increasing trajectories of addictive use of social media, mobile phones, or video games were common in early adolescents. Both high and increasing addictive screen use trajectories were associated with suicidal behaviors and ideation and worse mental health.”
The study looked at data from more than 4,000 children, starting at 9 or 10 years old. It followed the participants for years and found that, by the age of 14, around a third of participants became increasingly addicted to social media, about 25 percent of the kids were increasingly addicted to their cell phones, and more than 40 percent showed signs of being addicted to video games.
SYMPTOMS OF ADDICTION
Generally accepted signs of technology addiction include:
- Spending a lot of time thinking about the use of technology
- Feeling compelled to use the technology more and more
- Using technology to numb painful emotions
- Unsuccessfully trying to cut back on the use of technology
- Becoming restless or irritable when the technology is unavailable
- Using technology has a negative impact on life activities
“It’s an important study and raising awareness about screen addiction,” Dr. Jason Nagata, a pediatrician specializing in adolescent screen use at the University of California, San Francisco, told NPR. “It shows that elements of addiction related to screen use are more strongly predictive of poorer mental health and even suicide risk compared to just screen time. So, I think that it provides more nuance.”
“For parents and educators, the discussion around mobile phones and social media has focused on limiting or banning use, but our results indicate more complex factors are involved,” said first author Dr. Yunyu Xiao, assistant professor of population health sciences at Weill Cornell Medicine. “Clinical trials have shown that limiting cell phone use, for instance, during school hours, was not effective in reducing the risk of suicidal behavior or improving other aspects of mental health.”
RISK OF SUICIDE
The researchers found that each type of digital activity showed unique patterns of association with suicide-related behaviors and mental health symptoms. For social media and mobile phones, the high and increasing addictive use trajectories were associated with a two to three times greater risk of suicidal behaviors and suicidal ideation compared with the low addictive use trajectory. The higher use trajectories were also associated with either internalizing symptoms, such as anxiousness and depression, or externalizing symptoms, including aggressiveness or inattentiveness.
The study revealed that the total amount of time spent on social media, mobile phones, and video games was not associated with future suicide-related or mental health outcomes. What mattered most was how youth were engaging with screens, especially whether their use showed signs of compulsion, distress, or loss of control—in other words, addiction.
SEVERE MENTAL HEALTH IMPACT
In her 2023 book, Generations, psychology professor Jean Twenge pointed out that Gen Z members born between 1995 and 2012 are twice as likely to be dissatisfied with their lives, twice as likely to be clinically depressed, and twice as likely to take their own lives as teens and young adults compared to millennials at the same age.
“Every indicator of mental health and psychological well-being has become more negative among teens and young adults since 2012,” Twenge wrote in Generations. “The trends are stunning in their consistency, breadth, and size. Most involve what psychologists call internalizing disorders, such as depression and anxiety. Even when they do not rise to the level of disorders, these emotions are not pleasant—they involve feeling unhappy, dissatisfied with life, and down on yourself.”
In The Anxious Generation, social psychologist Jonathan Haidt argued that Gen Z experienced a “phone-based” childhood. “Gen Z got sucked into spending many hours of each day scrolling through the shiny happy posts of friends, acquaintances, and distant influencers.”
They became the first generation in history “to go through puberty with a portal in their pockets that called them away from the people nearby and into an alternative universe that was exciting, addictive, unstable, and […] unsuitable for children and adolescents,” Haidt wrote.
RELEARNING SOCIAL RELATIONSHIPS
At Turning Winds, teenage clients get reacquainted with life without phones and constant internet use. It is a safe place for teens to unplug and heal. “Kids today are so bombarded with societal expectations, the internet, social media, and so much of the demands that society puts on them,” says Turning Winds therapist Kim Sparks, LCPC. Parents bring their teens to our place in Montana “to make them kind of disconnect and have them only focus on themselves.”
“Many of our clients struggle socially when they arrive here,” says Turning Winds therapist Sean Carlin. “We’ve developed into a country where we are hooked to our electronics, and we do everything with them. It’s a big piece of why these kids are here.”
Instead of screen time, Turning Winds clients get to enjoy a lot of time in nature. Physical exercise is another important part of teenage life, and being outdoors provides the perfect environment for it. Regular outdoor activities can not only improve physical fitness but can also offer an opportunity to explore, experiment, and take risks in a safe and supervised environment. Spending time outdoors can also help to develop social skills and connect with others.
The therapeutic approach at Turning Winds program instills comprehensive change in our clients. We believe success is most likely achieved through a combination of therapeutic and educational approaches that provide the best outcomes possible for each child we treat. “This program works because we build relationships with these kids. The more of a relationship therapists have, the more of a positive impact they can have on these kids,” says Carlin.
Turning Winds provides a therapeutic respite from a dysfunctional cultural experience, reconnection with core human values, and the holistic education and therapeutic alliance needed to perceive and practice intentional living. Contact us online for more information, or call us at 800-845-1380.
