Effect of screen time duration on psychosocial and behavioral aspects in adolescents (10-19 years): A cross-sectional...

Adolescents have extensive use of screens and they have common complains related to mental health. Here a systematic review was done to understand the association between screen time and adolescent's mental health. Therefore, it is of interest to assess the effect of duration of screen time on psychosocial and behavioural aspects in adolescent children among 300 randomly selected children at the Department of Paediatrics, Index Medical College, Hospital and Research Centre, Indore. Data were collected from both inpatient and outpatient departments of the hospital using the strengths and difficulties questionnaire and their screen time. Most adolescents had personal gadgets (30.3%) or used those owned by close family members. A majority (78.3%) reported daily screen time between 1-5 hours, while 21.7% spent 6-10 hours daily on screen-based activities. Psychological outcomes highlighted alarming levels of distress, with 67.7% exhibiting depressive symptoms and 79.7% showing some form of anxiety. Behavioral issues such as irritability (34.3%), aggression (22.7%) and withdrawal (16.7%) were also prevalent. Thus, show that both the duration and content of screen use play a pivotal role in shaping mental health outcomes, making it imperative for caregivers, educators and policymakers to take a proactive role in moderating screen habits.