According to the Guardian, researchers at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden and the Oregon Health Sciences University in the U.S. have published the results of a study that observed the development of more than 8,300 U.S. children between the ages of 10 and 14. The study will be published in the journal Pediatrics Open Science.
According to the results of the peer-reviewed study, the research team confirmed that there was a link between the use of SNS and the increase in symptoms of attention deficit. The children in the study spent an average of 2.3 hours a day watching TV or YouTube, 1.4 hours on SNS, and 1.5 hours on video games.
No association was found between watching TV or YouTube, playing video games, and ADHD-related symptoms. However, the use of SNS has been shown to be associated with an increase in children’s attention deficit symptoms over time. The research team confirmed that genetic factors or socioeconomic background are not related to ADHD.
“Our research suggests that SNS in particular affects children’s concentration,” said Torkel Klingberg, a professor of cognitive neuroscience at the Karolinska Institute. “SNS involves constant interference in the form of messages and notifications,” he said. “The simple idea of whether a message has arrived can act as a mental hindrance.”
The research team pointed out that not all children who use SNS suffer from concentration problems, but the problem is that many children use SNS before the age of 13, which is the minimum age of use of TikTok or Instagram. According to the study, children’s SNS usage time steadily increases from about 30 minutes a day at the age of 9 to 2 and a half hours a day at the age of 13.
The research team emphasized that big tech companies should check their user age more strictly and set clear guidelines to prevent children from using SNS early and continuous increase in usage time.
The prevalence of ADHD in children in the United States is steadily increasing. According to the National Survey on Child Health in the United States, the prevalence of ADHD in children increased from 9.5% in 2003-2007 to 11.3% in 2020-2022.
JENNIFER KIM
US ASIA JOURNAL
