The Journal of the American Medical Association has published an investigation that links Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity disorder symptoms with teens and their use of electronic devices.
The team of academics studied 2,587 high school students over two years to see what effect digital devices have on youth.
The students who used multiple forms of digital media in a day are twice as likely to report strong ADHD-like symptoms, says the report. Symptoms include a lack of impulse control or patience.
The researchers found that the more digital media that the students consumed the more likely they were to have the symptoms.
The team seemed hesitant to blame mobile devices for the symptoms, and instead theorize that some of the kids already had ADHD like symptoms and they simply surface more easily while they’re using a digital device.
“There was a statistically significant but modest association between higher frequency of digital media use and subsequent symptoms of ADHD. Further research is needed to determine whether this association is causal,” reads the paper’s conclusion.
The paper mentions that Google and Apple’s new digital wellbeing tools seem like they might be helpful in keeping kids from overusing their devices and ideally less device time will mean fewer ADHD symptoms.
Source: Journal of the American Medical Association Via: Engadget
MobileSyrup may earn a commission from purchases made via our links, which helps fund the journalism we provide free on our website. These links do not influence our editorial content. Support us here.
