Are Screen Time and Depression in Adolescents Linked?

Whether increased screen time contributes to the rise in depression among adolescents is unclear. Researchers conducted a secondary analysis of survey data for 3826 adolescents in Montreal followed over 4 years. Beginning in 7th grade, students completed annual surveys about time spent in front of digital screens, the type of screen activity (social media, television, computer use, or video games), and depressive symptoms.

In a between-person analysis, every 1 hour increase in social media use and computer use was associated with an increase in severity of depressive symptoms over the study period (increases of 0.64 and 0.69 units, respectively, on a 28-point scale). In a within-person analysis, every 1 hour increase in social media use and …