San Francisco: A new study has revealed that activities such as watching videos, playing video games, texting and video chatting can increase suicidal tendencies as a link between the two has been revealed.
A recent study found that children between the ages of 9 and 11 who spend more time on screens are at greater risk of developing suicidal tendencies two years later.
The research findings come at a time when the youth mental health crisis is worsening and new legislation is being introduced which aims to prevent children under 16 from accessing social media.
The study, published in the journal Preventive Medicine, found that an increase of up to one hour in screen time could increase suicide risk by up to 9 percent two years later.
Jason Nagata, assistant professor of pediatrics at the University of California San Francisco and senior author of the study, said that spending too much screen time can lead to social isolation, cyberbullying and sleep disturbances that can worsen mental health. Too much screen time affects participation in social activities, physical activity, and sleep time.
In the research, screen time data of 11,633 children aged 9 to 11 years were collected and these children were studied for two years. Children answered questions regarding screen time and suicidal behaviors in six different ways.
University of Toronto assistant professor and co-author of the study, Kyle T. Genson, said that much of the research was completed before the Covid-19 pandemic, but the findings now suggest that mental health may be worse during the pandemic. correspond to
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