11-year-old boys who regularly play video games are 24% less likely to develop depressive syndromes at the age of 14. On the other hand, this is not the case with social networks, which increase the risk of depression and anxiety, especially among young girls.
- Video games are not necessarily harmful to the mental health of young people: those who play them daily at 11 years old are 24% less likely to develop depressive symptoms at 14 years old.
- On the other hand, the use of social networks among pre-adolescents should be monitored: it would contribute to their discomfort once they become older.
- For the authors of the study, the results show that the recommendations concerning the time spent in front of a screen must be adapted to these different activities.
Dangerous, violent, cutting young people off from reality and from all social life… Video games have long been accused of all evil.
However, a new study by a researcher from University College London (UCL) shows that playing video games regularly can also protect adolescents against mental disorders. It has just been published in the journal Psychological Medicine.
The work’s lead author, PhD student Aaron Kandola, analyzed how different types of screen time can positively or negatively influence young people’s mental health, and can also impact boys and girls differently. “Screens allow us to engage in a wide range of activities. Guidelines and recommendations for screen time should be based on our understanding of how these different activities can influence mental health and whether this influence is significant”he believes.
According to Aaron Kandola, gambling is not necessarily a bad activity for mental health. On the contrary, “during the pandemic, video games have been an important social platform for young people”.
No risk of depression in video game addicts
The study authors analyzed data from 11,341 adolescents who were part of the Millennium Cohort Study, a nationally representative sample of young people who had been involved in research since they were born in the UK in 2000-2002.
The participants answered when they were 11 years old questionnaires to assess the time spent playing video games, using the Internet or social networks. They then, at age 14, answered questions about depressive symptoms, such as depression, loss of pleasure and lack of concentration.
The researchers then found that boys who played video games almost daily had 24% fewer depressive symptoms, three years later, than boys who played video games less than once a month. They therefore argue that video games have some positive aspects that could promote mental health, such as problem-solving and social, cooperative and engaging elements.
Social networks, a risk for the mental health of adolescents
Social media, on the other hand, seems to have a negative impact on the mental health of adolescents, especially young girls. Results showed that those using social media daily at age 11 had 13% more depression symptoms three years later. According to the researchers, frequent use of social media could increase the feeling of social isolation.
These are not the first works to demonstrate the harmful effects of social networks on the mental health of young people. In 2019, another study published in The Lancet by UCL showed that their use increased the risk of depression in adolescent girls. More recently, an Australian study linked regular use of Instagram, Facebook, Tumblr and Snapchat to the onset of eating disorders.
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