DEADLY SERIOUS –
June 19, 2025 – JAMA Network looked at data from over 4,000 children starting at 9 or 10 years old. The study followed these children for years and found that, by the age of 14:
Around a third of participants became increasingly addicted to social media – About 25% of kids were increasingly addicted to their cell phones – Over 40% showed signs of being addicted to video games…
According to NPR, Dr. Jason Nagata, a pediatrician at the University of California, San Francisco, said, “It’s an important study and raising awareness about screen addiction. … It shows that elements of addiction related to screen use are more strongly predictive of poorer mental health and even suicide risk compared to just screen time. So, I think that it provides more nuance.”
Data was used from an ongoing longitudinal study called the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study, which has been following these children for years. During that time, these children were questioned about their average daily screen time, among other things, with a standardized questionnaire.
