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Updated: Aug 5, 2026
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Comparing Eye-tracking Data of Children with High-functioning ASD, Comorbid ADHD, and of a Control Watching Social Videos
Published on: December 7, 2018
Problematic Social Media Use and Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder Symptoms in Adolescents
Jason M Nagata1, Christopher D Otmar1, Sahana Nayak1
1Division of Adolescent and Young Adult Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco.
JAMA Network Open
|July 17, 2026
Summary
Problematic social media use (PSMU) elevations predict increased attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms in adolescents, especially males. While ADHD symptoms also predict PSMU, this effect is weaker and less consistent.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Psychiatry
- Developmental Psychology
Background:
- Problematic social media use (PSMU) shares underlying mechanisms with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms, including attentional control, impulsivity, and reward sensitivity.
- Existing research primarily relies on cross-sectional data, lacking longitudinal, within-person investigations into the PSMU-ADHD symptom relationship.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the bidirectional, within-person associations between PSMU and ADHD symptoms over five annual assessments.
- To examine how these associations vary by sex.
Main Methods:
- Prospective cohort study utilizing data from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study (N=11,286).
- Annual assessments from year 2 to year 6, measuring youth-reported PSMU and parent-reported ADHD symptoms.
- Random-intercept cross-lagged panel models to analyze within-person associations, controlling for between-person differences.
Main Results:
- Higher-than-usual PSMU predicted subsequent increases in ADHD symptoms (e.g., year 4 to 5: β=0.08, P<.001).
- ADHD symptoms also predicted higher PSMU, but with smaller and more sporadic effects (e.g., year 4 to 5: β=0.04, P=.02).
- The prospective association from PSMU to ADHD symptoms was significantly stronger in males than in females.
Conclusions:
- Elevations in PSMU are directly associated with increased ADHD symptoms in mid-adolescence, particularly in males.
- The reverse association of ADHD symptoms with PSMU is less pronounced.
- Clinical screening for excessive social media use and attention to sex-specific patterns may be beneficial.
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