Studies conducted in Sweden and the US have shown that excessive use of social media in children aged 10 to 14 has weakened their ability to concentrate.
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A study has shown that the increasing use of social media among children is damaging their concentration levels.
This is leading to an increase in the incidence of ‘Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder’ (ADHD) , researchers claim. ADHD is a common brain disorder in children that causes difficulty concentrating.
A study prepared by the Karolinska Institute in Sweden and the Oregon Health and Science University in the US has shown that children’s ability to concentrate is declining. The researchers claim that they closely monitored the development of more than 8,300 American children aged 10 to 14 for the study.
According to the study, children who used social media for about 30 minutes a day at the age of 9 used it for up to two and a half hours a day by the age of 13.
Torkel Klingberg , a professor of cognitive neuroscience at Karolinska Institutet, said, “Our study shows that social media is affecting children’s ability to focus.” According to Klingberg, messages and notifications on social media, as well as the constant thought of whether a message has arrived, are a way to mentally distract them. Klingberg said that the rate of ADHD in the United States, which was 9.5 percent in 2003-2007, has risen to 11.3 percent in 2020-2022, may be partly due to the increased use of social media.
According to the study, children spent an average of 2.3 hours a day watching television or online videos, 1.4 hours on social media, and 1.5 hours playing video games. Playing video games or watching TV-YouTube cannot be linked to ADHD-related symptoms. However, the use of social media seems to be decreasing the patience of children over time. The study says, 'Although its effect may seem small at the individual level, it can have dangerous consequences if it affects the whole.' The study is published in the journal '
Pediatrics Open Science
