Excessive smartphone use can negatively impact teen's mental health, researchers find
BOSTON - Researchers have found more evidence that excessive smartphone use could impact a teen's mental health.
Scientists refer to it as "problematic smartphone use" or PSU; in other words, behaviors around smartphone use akin to an addiction, including an inability to limit the amount of time spent on the phone, feeling panicky when the phone is out of reach, or using it when they should be doing other activities.
Researchers at King's College London found that teens with PSU were twice as likely to have anxiety and almost three times more likely to suffer from depression compared to teens without problematic smartphone use.
Older teens also reported higher rates of insomnia. Most kids said they wanted to cut down on their phone use, and some said they needed help to do it. Some strategies that work include putting the phone in silent mode, getting rid of notifications, and placing the phone in another room at bedtime.