Screen time and addictive use of gaming and social media in relation to health outcomes

Abstract

Introduction: This study examined associations between screen time and addictive use (i.e., heavy involvement and negative consequences) of gaming and social media, and their independent effects on health outcomes. Methods: Survey data were collected from 2,265 participants (mean age = 21.57). Internet Gaming Disorder (IGD) and Social Media Disorder (SMD) were measured with the Gaming and Social Media Questionnaire (GSMQ-9), with separate measures for heavy involvement and negative consequences. Screen time was measured by weekly hours of gaming and social media. Assessed health outcomes were psychological problems, low self-concept, social problems, sleep problems, and sleep time. Results: Screen time and addictive use were significantly associated for both gaming and social media, with associations being stronger for symptoms of heavy involvement compared to symptoms of negative consequences. However, despite significant associations, a substantial proportion of the participants with a high screen time did not meet any or just one symptom of addiction. More importantly, it was primarily negative consequences that had independent effects on health outcomes, except for sleep. High levels of heavy involvement in gaming, were even related to lower, not higher, levels of psychological problems. Conclusion: The present findings study show that screen time is a poor indicator of addictive use of gaming and social media. Given that it was primarily negative consequences of gaming or social media that had effects on health outcomes, our study also emphasizes the need to distinguish between different types of addictive use and to further examine the diagnostic validity of the nine IGD symptom criteria.