The effects of excessive screen-time on the mental well-being of adolescents

Abstract

The rapid growth of technology has resulted in a rise in the use of screen media. Screen media is employed at work and in schools, but it is also heavily used during leisure time. This sort of media, like everything else, has its advantages and disadvantages, especially when used excessively. As per guidelines issued by the CDC, more than 2 hours a day of screen use is considered as excessive screen time . A study by Legner (2021), shows that many adolescents around the world surpass this recommended time. According to WHO (2022a), media influence, which is closely tied to screen time exposure, is one of the drivers of adolescents' mental well-being. The aim of this study was to find out what current research says about the effects of excessive screen time on the mental health of adolescents. The research question reads: What are the effects of excessive screen time on the mental well-being of adolescents? The PEO elements guiding this study include: Adolescents (10-19 years) as the population, screen time as the exposure and effects on mental health as the outcome. Inclusion and exclusion criteria were used to guide the literature search, along with multiple restricting filters, such as age, language and year of publication. A total of six articles which include three systematic reviews, one longitudinal and two cross-sectional studies were retrieved from various databases including Research Gate, Google scholar, PubMed and HyDi. The articles were critically appraised using the CASP tool Studies showed that the most prominent mental health indicator related to excessive screen time was depression. Nonetheless, different studies have discovered other effects on adolescents' mental health, such as anxiety, a negative impact on self-esteem and behavior, and elements that may affect mental well-being, such as proper sleep. However, studies indicate that, in addition to screen time, screen content has a significant impact on the mental health of teenagers. Research also suggests that screen usage alone may not be the cause of mental health problems, but rather the use of screens to replace activities that benefit mental health, such as physical exercise.