Association of Digital Media Use With Subsequent Symptoms of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder Among Adolescents

Abstract

IMPORTANCE Modern digital platforms are easily accessible and intensely stimulating; it is unknown whether frequent use of digital media may be associated with symptoms of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).OBJECTIVE To determine whether the frequency of using digital media among 15-and 16-year-olds without significant ADHD symptoms is associated with subsequent occurrence of ADHD symptoms during a 24-month follow-up.DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS Longitudinal cohort of students in 10 Los Angeles County, California, high schools recruited through convenience sampling. Baseline and 6-, 12-, 18-, and 24-month follow-up surveys were administered from September 2014 (10th grade) to December 2016 (12th grade). Of 4100 eligible students, 3051 10th-graders (74%) were surveyed at the baseline assessment.EXPOSURES Self-reported use of 14 different modern digital media activities at a high-frequency rate over the preceding week was defined as many times a day (yes/no) and was summed in a cumulative index (range, 0-14).MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES Self-rated frequency of 18 ADHD symptoms (never/rare, sometimes, often, very often) in the 6 months preceding the survey. The total numbers of 9 inattentive symptoms (range, 0-9) and 9 hyperactive-impulsive symptoms (range, 0-9) that students rated as experiencing often or very often were calculated. Students who had reported experiencing often or very often 6 or more symptoms in either category were classified as being ADHD symptom-positive. RESULTS Among the 2587 adolescents (63% eligible students; 54.4% girls; mean [SD] age 15.5 years [0.5 years]) who did not have significant symptoms of ADHD at baseline, the median follow-up was 22.6 months (interquartile range [IQR], months). The mean (SD) number of baseline digital media activities used at a high-frequency rate was 3.62 (3.30); 1398 students (54.1%) indicated high frequency of checking social media (95% CI, 52.1%-56.0%), which was the most common media activity. High-frequency engagement in each additional digital media activity at baseline was associated with a significantly higher odds of having symptoms of ADHD across follow-ups (OR, 1.11; 95% CI, 1.06-1.16). This association persisted after covariate adjustment (OR, 1.10; 95% CI, 1.05-1.15). The 495 students who reported no high-frequency media use at baseline had a 4.6% mean rate of having ADHD symptoms across follow-ups vs 9.5% among the 114 who reported 7 high-frequency activities (difference; 4.9%; 95% CI, 2.5%-7.3%) and vs 10.5% among the 51 students who reported 14 high-frequency activities (difference, 5.9%; 95% CI, 2.6%-9.2%).CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE Among adolescents followed up over 2 years, there was a statistically significant but modest association between higher frequency of digital media use and subsequent symptoms of ADHD. Further research is needed to determine whether this association is causal.

Penggunaan Gadget pada Anak; Tantangan Baru Orang Tua Milenial

“…Selanjutnya, hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa sebagian besar anak yang memiliki kebiasaan bermain gadget lebih dari 1 jam setiap hari mengalami degradasi perkembangan sosial dengan aktivitas gadget yang tinggi akan menjadi apatis terhadap lingkungan, tingkat agresif juga akan meningkat (Ra et al, 2018).…”

Associations of Different Media Activities With Behavioral Strengths and Difficulties and School Performance in Adolescents: a Cross-Sectional Analysis

“…The association between watching videos and symptoms of hyperactivity/inattention might be explained by the fast pace of online videos. Fast-paced and highly stimulating media might increase general arousal and favor an attentional style of scanning and shifting, which may hinder sustained attention and impulse control [36].…”

“…Whereas the media activities gaming, social networking, and watching TV/videos and their associations with health and academic performance have been investigated in several studies, other media activities such as searching for information/doing homework or traditional ways of communication (e.g., telephone calling, mailing) are understudied. Furthermore, studies exploring different -academic as well as entertaining -media activities in the same study are rare [36,37]. A very recent study showed that the use of social media for the purpose of searching for information was not associated with negative mental health outcomes, whereas social media use for other purposes was [37].…”

Whole Exome Sequencing: Novel Genetic Polymorphisms in Saudi Arabian Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) Children

“…However, the exact cause of ADHD is not clear; a number of factors can contribute to the development of ADHD, such as genetics, smoking, alcohol abuse, or drug use during pregnancy; exposure to environmental toxins during pregnancy, exposure to environmental toxins during growth and development, low birth weight, and brain injuries are associated with ADHD development. A recent study has indicated that there is a modest association between higher frequency of digital media use and the development of ADHD symptoms; however, further research is required to determine whether this association is causal [8]. Executive function disorder is implicated inmost symptoms of ADHD and is involved in the frontal-subcortical circuits of the brain [9].…”