Screen Time Tied to Manic Symptoms in Preteens

MONDAY, Feb. 24, 2025 (HealthDay News) — Screen time such as social media and video games may be associated prospectively with manic symptoms in early adolescence, according to a study published online Feb. 19 in Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology.

Jason M. Nagata, M.D., from the University of California, San Francisco, and colleagues used data from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study (9,243 children; ages 10 to 11 years in year 1 in 2017 to 2019) to examine prospective associations between screen time and manic symptoms in early adolescents.

The researchers found that after adjusting for covariates, overall typical daily screen time in year 1 was prospectively associated with higher manic symptoms in year 3 (B = 0.05). Similar findings were seen for four subtypes of screen time: social media (B = 0.20), texting (B = 0.18), videos (B = 0.14), and video games (B = 0.09). Significant partial mediators included problematic social media use, video game use, and sleep duration in year 2 (47.7, 58.0, and 9.0 percent mediation, respectively).

“Adolescence is a particularly vulnerable time for the development of bipolar-spectrum disorders,” Nagata said in a statement. “Given that earlier onset of symptoms is linked with more severe and chronic outcomes, it”s important to understand what might contribute to the onset or worsening of manic symptoms in teenagers.”

Abstract/Full Text