Playing video games and watching television could increase the risk of suffering from obsessive-compulsive disorder.
- According to Health Insurance, 2 to 3% of the French population suffer from OCD.
- In France, children spend an average of 4h11 in front of screens every day, according to a 2017 report by Santé Publique France.
The screens are to be consumed in moderation. More and more scientific research agrees on this recommendation. A new study published in the Journal of Adolescent Health, confirms that too much time spent in front of screens can be harmful to health. According to the conclusions of these researchers from the University of California – San Francisco, the risk of suffering from obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) rises as the time spent in front of the television or video games increases.
Screen addiction, a form of obsessive compulsive disorder
OCD is a mental health condition characterized by recurring, uncontrolled, repetitive thoughts or behaviors. The people concerned cannot fight against it, and this can have consequences on their daily life and that of their loved ones. “Screen addictions are associated with compulsiveness and loss of behavioral control, which are the main symptoms of OCD“, explains Jason Nagata, lead author of the study.
The risk of OCD increases due to the excessive use of screens
With his team, they worked on a sample of 9,204 preteens, aged 9 to 10. These young people had answered questionnaires on their screen consumption. On average, respondents spent 3h54 per day in front of a screen, regardless of the platform, excluding educational use. All were followed for two years. At the end of this period, the researchers counted the number of diagnoses of obsessive-compulsive disorders. After two years, 4.4% of preteens had developed OCD. The risk of suffering from OCD increased by 13% per hour spent playing video games each day, and by 11% per hour spent watching videos. “Video games and streaming videos were each linked to a higher risk of developing OCD.”, note the authors. “Texting, video chatting, and social media were not individually related to OCD, but that may be because the tweens in the sample didn’t use them much.”they continue.
How can screens generate TOCs?
They found that pre-teens developed addictive behaviors towards screens. “Children who spend too much time playing video games report needing to play more and being unable to stop no matter how hard they tryexplains Jason Nagata, lead author of the study. Intrusive thoughts about video game content can turn into obsessions or compulsions“The operation of online content can exacerbate this behavior, since algorithms push to view similar content, in the case of videos.”While screen time can have significant educational and socialization benefits, parents should be aware of the potential risks, especially to mental health.“, concludes Jason Nagata. He advises setting up times without screens, before bedtime for example.