Social epidemiology of early adolescent problematic screen use in the United States

Nagata, Jason M.; Singh, Gurbinder; Sajjad, Omar M.; Ganson, Kyle T.; Testa, Alexander; Jackson, Dylan B.; Assari, Shervin; Murray, Stuart B.; Bibbins‐Domingo, Kirsten; Baker, Fiona C.

doi:10.1038/s41390-022-02176-8

Cited by 34 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 43 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Socioeconomic disparities and other forms of social adversity could increase people’s propensity for problematic metaverse use, for example, by motivating them to escape their stressful environment, or by constraining their access to alternative activities in their neighborhoods. Nagata et al [ 64 ] proposed that these effects of social adversity may explain, to some extent, why higher levels of problematic video game use are reported by adolescents in the United States who identify as Native American, Black, or Latinx, and by those with lower parental educational attainment. Conversely, positive social interactions in the offline environment could be protective against the risk of problematic metaverse use.…”

Section: Virtual Worlds and Mental Healthmentioning

confidence: 99%

Time to Think “Meta”: A Critical Viewpoint on the Risks and Benefits of Virtual Worlds for Mental Health

Paquin¹,

Ferrari²,

Sekhon³

et al. 2023

JMIR Serious Games

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The metaverse is gaining traction in the general population and has become a priority of the technological industry. Defined as persistent virtual worlds that exist in virtual or augmented reality, the metaverse proposes to afford a range of activities of daily life, from socializing and relaxing to gaming, shopping, and working. Because of its scope, its projected popularity, and its immersivity, the metaverse may pose unique opportunities and risks for mental health. In this viewpoint article, we integrate existing evidence on the mental health impacts of video games, social media, and virtual reality to anticipate how the metaverse could influence mental health. We outline 2 categories of mechanisms related to mental health: experiences or behaviors afforded by the metaverse and experiences or behaviors displaced by it. The metaverse may benefit mental health by affording control (over an avatar and its virtual environment), cognitive activation, physical activity, social connections, and a sense of autonomy and competence. However, repetitive rewarding experiences may lead to addiction-like behaviors, and high engagement in virtual worlds may facilitate and perpetuate the avoidance of challenges in the offline environment. Further, time spent in virtual worlds may displace (reduce) other determinants of mental health, such as sleep rhythms and offline social capital. Importantly, individuals will differ in their uses of and psychological responses to the metaverse, resulting in heterogeneous impacts on their mental health. Their technological motivations, developmental stage, sociodemographic context, and prior mental health problems are some of the factors that may modify and frame the positive and negative effects of the metaverse on their mental health. In conclusion, as the metaverse is being scaffolded by the industry and by its users, there is a window of opportunity for researchers, clinicians, and people with lived experience to coproduce knowledge on its possible impacts on mental health and illness, with the hope of influencing policy-making, technological development, and counseling of patients.

show abstract

Section: Virtual Worlds and Mental Healthmentioning

confidence: 99%

Time to Think “Meta”: A Critical Viewpoint on the Risks and Benefits of Virtual Worlds for Mental Health

Paquin¹,

Ferrari²,

Sekhon³

et al. 2023

JMIR Serious Games

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The differences in the associations between problematic social media use versus time spent on social media and alcohol expectancies may be explained by conceptual differences in the measures [ 26 ]. Time spent on social media does not capture specific thoughts, feelings, or behaviors related to social media, whereas the problematic social media use measure included elements relevant to addiction with parallels to alcohol use disorder such as mood modification, tolerance, withdrawal, conflict, and relapse [ 27 , 28 ]. A prior study of 435 older adolescents 16–20 years in the Northeast U.S. found no association between social media time and positive alcohol expectancies [ 9 ]; our study builds upon these prior findings of no association between social media time and alcohol expectancies in a younger, larger, national sample.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, recent scholarship on social media and screen time has noted that measures of time (e.g., hours per day) cannot capture important qualities of social media use, such as problematic use [26]. Problematic social media use can include elements of addiction, such as mood modification, tolerance, withdrawal, conflict, and relapse [27][28][29]. Problematic social media use also parallels to alcohol use disorder in that both can lead to functional impairment, such as failure to meet responsibilities at school or work [28][29][30].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Problematic social media use and alcohol expectancies in early adolescents

et al. 2023

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background Alcohol expectancies are beliefs regarding positive (e.g., tension reduction) or negative (e.g., loss of motor coordination) effects of alcohol. Based on Social Learning Theory, social media can influence alcohol expectancies in adolescents. In particular, problematic social media use – which can reflect elements of addiction, including mood modification, tolerance, withdrawal, conflict, and relapse – could be linked to alcohol expectancies. We aimed to determine the associations between problematic social media use and alcohol expectancies in a national (U.S.) cohort of 10-14-year-old early adolescents. Methods We analyzed cross-sectional data from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study (N = 9,008) at the Year 2 assessment (2018–2020). Unadjusted and adjusted linear regression analyses were conducted to examine the associations between problematic social media use and alcohol expectancies (positive and negative), adjusting for race/ethnicity, sex, household income, parent education, sexual orientation, parental marital status, and study site. Furthermore, we computed marginal predicted probabilities to aid in interpreting findings. Results The sample was 48.7% female and racially and ethnically diverse (43.0% non-White), with a mean age of 12.02 ± 0.66 years old. In models adjusted for confounders including both time spent on social media and problematic social media use, time spent on social media was not associated with positive or negative alcohol expectancies, but higher problematic social media use score was associated with higher positive (B = 0.045, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.020–0.069) and negative (B = 0.072, 95% CI 0.043–0.101) alcohol expectancies scores. Conclusion Problematic social media use was associated with both positive and negative alcohol expectancies in a demographically diverse national sample of early adolescents in the U.S. Given the small effect sizes of the current study, future studies should further examine these relationships prospectively, as well as the mechanisms linking problematic social media use to alcohol expectancies and alcohol consumption. Because alcohol expectancies are modifiable and linked with alcohol initiation, they could be a target for future prevention efforts.

show abstract

“…5 Although contemporary screen modalities have expanded to smartphones and other devices, television and video watching remain the most commonly used screen modalities in adolescents and adults. [5][6][7][8] Previous studies have examined the cross-sectional associations of screen time and cardiometabolic risk factors, including systolic blood pressure, non-HDL cholesterol, glucose, and waist circumference in young children, adolescents, and college-aged adults. In particular, screen time has been associated with higher risk of type 2 diabetes in both children and adults, higher non-HDL cholesterol in young children, and obesity in both children and adolescents.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Screen Time from Adolescence to Adulthood and Cardiometabolic Disease: a Prospective Cohort Study

et al. 2023

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background Previous studies have analyzed the relationship between screen time and cardiometabolic disease risk factors among adolescents, but few have examined the longitudinal effects of screen time on cardiometabolic health into adulthood using nationally representative data. Objective To determine prospective associations between screen time and later cardiometabolic disease over a 24-year period using a nationally representative adolescent cohort. Design Longitudinal prospective cohort data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health) collected from 1994 to 2018. Participants Adolescents aged 11–18 years old at baseline (1994–1995) followed for 24 years. Main Measures Predictors: screen time (five repeated measures of self-reported television and video watching from adolescence to adulthood). Outcomes: Five repeated measures of body mass index (BMI); two repeated measures of waist circumference, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and diabetes collected at 15- and 24-year follow-up exams. Key Results For the 7105 adolescents in the sample (49.7% female, 35.0% non-white), the baseline adolescent average screen time per day was 2.86 ± 0.08 hours per day, which generally declined through 24-year follow-up. Average BMI at baseline was 22.57 ± 0.13 kg/m2, which increased to 30.27 ± 0.18 kg/m2 through follow-up. By 24-year follow-up, 43.4% of participants had obesity, 8.4% had diabetes, 31.8% had hypertension, and 14.9% had hyperlipidemia. In mixed-effects generalized linear models, each additional hour of screen time per day was associated with 0.06 (95% CI 0.04–0.09) within-person increase in BMI. Each additional hour of screen time per day was associated with higher within-person odds of high waist circumference (AOR 1.17, 95% CI 1.09–1.26), obesity (AOR 1.09, 95% CI 1.03–1.15), and diabetes (AOR 1.17, 95% CI 1.07–1.28). Screen time was not significantly associated with hypertension or hyperlipidemia. Conclusions In this prospective cohort study, higher screen time in adolescence was associated with higher odds of select indicators of cardiometabolic disease in adulthood.

show abstract

Social epidemiology of early adolescent problematic screen use in the United States

Cited by 34 publications

References 43 publications

Time to Think “Meta”: A Critical Viewpoint on the Risks and Benefits of Virtual Worlds for Mental Health

Time to Think “Meta”: A Critical Viewpoint on the Risks and Benefits of Virtual Worlds for Mental Health

Problematic social media use and alcohol expectancies in early adolescents

Screen Time from Adolescence to Adulthood and Cardiometabolic Disease: a Prospective Cohort Study

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About