Are you blaming electronics for your teens’ mental health problems? A new study suggests you should think again

In times of everything from school to birthday parties being held on Zoom, access to the internet has become vital. On top of all other problems caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, since the beginning of March 2020, there has been a significant increase in mental health issues among youth. While it may be easy to blame the rapidly increased screen time for the growing issues, a new study suggests that limited digital access might have the opposite effect.

The study, conducted by the University of Cambridge sought to understand whether or not having no access to a computer with a reliable internet connection has a relationship to the mental health of 10–15-year-olds. Over a thousand participants from the United Kingdom filled out questionnaires throughout the pandemic. What the scientists found out might feel counter-intuitive at first.

The scientists used a metric called “Total Difficulties Score” to measure the well-being of the participants. Total Difficulties Score is a way to measure the participants’ mental health from a questionnaire that takes into account emotional problems, conduct problems, hyperactivity, peer problems and social well-being. During social isolation, the mean Total Difficulties Score went up among all participants. However, for the digitally excluded the increase was over five times as large as for their counterparts. What is interesting is that those with access to a computer with a slow internet connection had on average no higher Total Difficulties Scores compared to those with good internet connections.

The theory is quite simple. As we all know, going to school and after-school activities are a crucial part of both making and meeting friends and learning new valuable skills. Taking away access to the internet means excluding young people from being able to socialize and keeping up with their peers. Those with slower connections were still able to connect with their friends as they had access to the needed platforms and tools.

The possibility of similar lockdowns in the future is still on the table. The scientists suggest that in similar scenarios, access to computers and online environments must be secured for all youth. Young people are vulnerable to developing mental health issues. These issues can have long-lasting effects throughout their life. According to the study, mental health issues were on the rise even before the pandemic, but the situation became noticeably worse after the lockdowns and remote learning periods.

While the study focused on education, the scientists acknowledge that the effects of digital exclusion for the youth are not limited to the digital or concrete walls of the schools. As a result of the pandemic, increasing amounts of hobbies, social contacts and even healthcare services happen online. When meeting peers cannot happen face-to-face, teens socialize online by playing video games or by being on social media. The effects of the internet and social media on teens’ mental health can be devastating under some conditions, but completely logging out in this digital day and age can not be the answer either. Elementary access to the digital world for young people must be emphasized as a factor in the thousand-piece puzzle that mental health can be. Instead of the negatives, sometimes the positive effects of the digital world should be celebrated.

Metherell, T.E., Ghai, S., McCormick, E.M. et al. Digital access constraints predict worse mental health among adolescents during COVID-19. Sci Rep 12, 19088 (2022).