The fear of missing out in young people has been linked to increased smartphone addiction. Increased smartphone use, in turn, has been linked to sleep difficulties and learning burnout, which is explored in more depth in the attached study. Probably, this phenomenon in various forms can also be extrapolated to people of all age groups. […]
The Fear of Missing Out, Smartphone Use, and Learning Burnout Read More »
BackgroundThe extent to which digital media use by adolescents contributes to poor mental health, or vice-versa, remains unclear. The purpose of the present study is to clarify the strength and direction of associations between adolescent internet use and the development of depression symptoms using a longitudinal modeling approach. We also examine whether associations differ for boys and girls.MethodsData are drawn from (N = 1547) participants followed for the Quebec longitudinal Study of Child Development (QLSCD 1998–2020). Youth self-reported internet use in terms of the average hours of use per week at the ages of 13, 15, and 17. Youth also self-reported depression symptoms at the same ages.ResultsAfter testing sex-invariance, random intercepts cross-lagged panel models stratified by sex, revealed that internet use by girls was associated with significant within-person (time-varying) change in depression symptoms. Girl’s internet use at age 13 was associated with increased depression symptoms at age 15 (ß = 0.12) and internet use at age 15 increased depression at age 17 (ß = 0.10). For boys, internet use was not associated with significant time varying change in depression symptoms.ConclusionsThe present findings support the hypothesis that internet use by adolescents can represent a significant risk factor for the development of depressive symptoms, particularly in girls.
Adolescent use of the Internet and symptoms of depression and anxiety Read More »
