from University of Southern California
The new world of digital diversions, including social media, streaming video, text messaging and online chatrooms is the focus of a new study from the University of Southern California. It asks the question, “are children who spend a lot of time using digital devices prone to psychiatric problems?” The results, appearing in the Journal of the American Medical Association, suggest teens who are heaviest users of digital devices are twice as likely as infrequent users to show signs of ADHD (attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder). The two-year study followed more than two thousand teens. The findings provide information for parents, schools and pediatricians —in fact, anybody concerned that tech-dependent teens are driven to distraction or worse.