Social media use and screen time can lead to increased depression and anxiety in teens and teens, according to a new study.

According to a study published in the Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, researchers observed more than 3,000 students in grades 7 through 10 in the greater Montreal area over a four-year period.

The researchers measured the time students spent in front of social media, television and computers. The data revealed that the more time children spent absorbed by digital screens, their symptoms of anxiety and depression became more severe.

Not all forms of screen use had the same impact on their mental health, explains Patricia Conrod, one of the researchers in the study.

“In terms of the relationship between screen time and depression, what we found was that social media was very strongly linked to the increase in depressive symptoms, just like television,” she says. . “And there was no relationship between video games and depressive symptoms.”

When watching television, children often live idealized lives that are different from their own experiences, she says. But social media is unique because teens see photos, videos, and status updates from their own network of friends and peers.

“In a way, you are exposed to a slightly biased perspective on the lives of young people and you compare yourself to that,” she says.

Most adults have lived their childhood and adolescence without social media. Conrod says that many adults have developed a “more balanced outlook on everyday life” because they did not have digital access as children.

But digital is more accessible than ever and adolescents tend to switch a good part of their day using it – teens spend an average of about seven hours a day on social media, while tweens spend about five hours a day. In 2018, about half of American teens reported spending too much time on their cell phones, according to the Pew Research Center.

This consistent use can blur the lines of reality for teens whose brains are still developing, Conrod says.

“Teens today spend a lot more time interacting with others through social media and therefore are exposed to a biased reality,” she says.

Conrod says she is concerned that the filtered lives of others that many young people see while scrolling through their phones could influence how they critically review information.

Multiscreen, being exposed to more than one screen at a time, also helps determine whether young people can effectively analyze what is biased and what is not, she says. When you’re in front of multiple screens, “you become less critical of the information you’re exposed to because your attention is divided,” she says.

“If you spend a lot of time being exposed to biased information, you risk developing a somewhat biased perspective of the world,” she says. “And that concerns me. “

Marcelle Hutchins produced and edited this interview for broadcast with Kathleen mckenna. Serena mcmahon adapted it for the web.