Work

How do social media use, gaming frequency, and internalizing symptoms predict each other over time in early-to-middle adolescence?

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: BACKGROUND: The effects of adolescent digital technology use (e.g. social media, gaming) on their mental health are a major public health concern, but existing evidence is of mixed quality and findings have been inconclusive. METHODS: Separating within-person effects from between-person effects, a random-intercept cross-lagged panel model was applied to three annual waves of data (T1, T2, T3) on social media use, gaming, and internalizing symptoms among N = 25 629 adolescents (51% girls, average age 12 years, 7 months (SD = 3.58 months) at baseline) in Greater Manchester, England. RESULTS: Longitudinal relationships varied by gender, such that more frequent gaming at T2 predicted less time spent on social media use at T3 in girls (but not boys), and more frequent internalizing symptoms at T2 predicted reductions in gaming frequency at T3 in boys (but not girls). There was no evidence that time spent on social media or gaming frequency predicted later internalizing symptoms among girls or boys. Sensitivity analyses that distinguished active versus passive social media use replicated these findings. CONCLUSIONS: The findings of this study do not support the widely held view that adolescent technology use is a major causal factor in their mental health difficulties.

Source: Journal of Public Health

DOI: 10.1093/pubmed/fdaf150

Authors: Qiqi Cheng, Margarita Panayiotou, Turi Reiten Finserås, Amanda Iselin Olesen Andersen, Neil Humphrey

Institutions: University of Manchester, Norwegian Institute of Public Health

Language: English

Topic: Impact of Technology on Adolescents

Subfield: Sociology and Political Science

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $3,187