Do you worry about your teenager who is constantly staring at her phone? It’s a valid concern, especially in the midst of a global pandemic when teens may be spending more time on screens due to cancellations of other extracurricular activities.
Teens, especially girls, have better mental health when they spend more time taking part in extracurricular activities, like sports and art, and less time in front of screens, according to a new study by the University of British Columbia.
The study found that spending less than two hours per day of recreational screen time — such as browsing the internet, playing video games and using social media — was associated with higher levels of life satisfaction and optimism, and lower levels of anxiety and depressive symptoms, especially among girls.
The study involved 28,712 seventh grade students from 365 schools in 27 school districts across British Columbia. Extracurricular participation was also associated with better mental health outcomes. Further research is necessary to examine why the negative effects of screen time were more detrimental for girls than for boys.
Source: Newswise November 3, 2020