ADHD and Digital Media in Teens

A new study published in the JAMA medical journal revealed that there is a connection between the development of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder symptoms in teenagers and how much they used digital media. The study that linked the disorder to digital media exposure involved 2,587 students in 10 high schools across Los Angeles County in California. When the study started in the fall of 2014, the students were 15 to 16 years old and showed no significant ADHD symptoms. Follow-up data was then collected in the spring and fall of 2015 and 2016. While the results of the study showed a plausible link between ADHD symptoms among teens and their digital media usage, parents should not panic and cut off teenagers from technology. The study did not establish whether digital media causes ADHD symptoms to develop or if teenagers who develop ADHD are more prone to heavy digital media usage.

Ra, C. K., Cho, J., Stone, M. D., De La Cerda, J., Goldenson, N., Moroney, El., Tung, I., Lee, S. S., & Leventhal, A. M. (2018). Association of digital media use with subsequent symptoms of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder among adolescents. JAMA, 320(3), 255–263. http://dx.doi.org/10.1001/jama.2018.8931

Technology Affects Student Success on Exams

This study measured the effect of using an electronic device for a non-academic purpose during class on subsequent exam performance. It was found that dividing attention between an electronic device and the classroom lecture did not reduce comprehension of the lecture, as measured by within-class quiz questions. Instead, divided attention reduced long-term retention of the classroom lecture, which impaired subsequent unit exam and final exam performance. Students self-reported whether they had used an electronic device in each class. Exam performance was significantly worse than the no-device control condition both for students who did and did not use electronic devices during that class.

Glass, A. L., & Kang, M. (2018). Dividing attention in the classroom reduces exam performance. Educational Psychology. https://dx.doi.org/10.1080/01443410.2018.1489046

Association of Digital Media Use and ADHD Symptoms

This study published in in JAMA suggests that such frequent use of digital media by adolescents might increase their odds of developing symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. In this longitudinal cohort survey study of adolescents aged 15 and 16 years at baseline and without symptoms of ADHD, there was a significant association between higher frequency of modern digital media use and subsequent symptoms of ADHD over a 24-month follow-up.

Ra, C. K., Cho, J., Stone M. D., De La Cerda, J., Goldenson, N. I., Moroney, E., Tung, I., Lee, S. S., & Leventhal, A. M. (2018). Association of digital media use with subsequent symptoms of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder among adolescents. JAMA, 320(3), 255–263. https://dx.doi.org/10.1001/jama.2018.8931