They found that young people who spend more than an hour a day chatting on social networks or games consoles are more likely to experience socio-emotional difficulties, like depression and anxiety, than those who stick to just an hour a day.
Those who keep fit through sport and exercise (less than a third do so daily) are more likely to be happy and experience good emotional well-being.
Researchers, led by Dr Cara Booker from the Institute for Social and Economic Research at the University of Essex, followed the lifestyles and emotional wellbeing of around 5000 young people aged 10-15 who are part of Understanding Society, one of the biggest panel studies in the world, currently following individuals and households in the UK.
They found that 63% of young people were using social networking sites, such as Facebook, Twitter and current favourite Snapchat, for at least an hour every single day. Television viewing consumed more than an hour a day for more than 75% of young people. Only a third went out to play sport or exercise every day.
Young people who chatted on social websites between 1 and 3 hours were about 40% less likely to be happy as those who chatted for less than an hour a day. The findings suggest that young people who spent more than 4 hours a day online to friends were also less likely to be happy.
The same pattern affected those who play computer games or sat in front of the television. Older children who played computer games often were more likely to be happier than younger children who were playing for the same amount of time. Children who were watching TV for more than 4 hours had significantly lower odds of happiness, suggesting that too much TV really could be bad for you.
Young people who were on social media or computer games for more than 4 hours a day were more than twice as likely to have socio-emotional difficulties (e.g. problems with their peers or being hyperactive), than those who spent less than an hour a day on them.
Dr Booker said:
“More than half of UK youngsters are using social media for at least an hour a day – and it seems a little can be a good thing and our study shows this interaction can help happiness levels – but when they overdo it then the risks of depression and other emotional difficulties increase dramatically.
We can see the same problems with those young people who are spending lots of time playing computer games or watching television. The best way to keep a healthy mind and body is get active – our study found that young people who played sport or exercised had the highest happiness and well-being levels of all.
This research should be very useful to policy makers looking at increasing the nation’s health and to parents and young people who want to make the right choices now for the sake of both their mental and physical health in the future.”
Media Use, Sports Participation and Well-being in Adolescence: Cross-Sectional Findings from the UK Household Longitudinal Study: By Cara Booker, Alexandra Skew, Yvonne Kelly and Amanda Sacker is published in the American Journal of Public Health (April 2014)