Associations between digital media use and psychotic experiences in young adults of Quebec, Canada: a longitudinal study

Abstract

Purpose: Digital media use has been associated with psychotic experiences in youth from the community, but the direction of association remains unclear. We aimed to examine between- and within-person associations of digital media use and psychotic experiences in youth. Methods: The sample included 425 participants aged 18–25 years (82.5% female) from the community, followed between May 2021 and January 2022 over 3 time points—of which 263 participants (61.9%) completed at least 2. Digital media use was self-reported as time spent daily on TV and streaming platforms, social media, and video games over the past 3 months. Psychotic experiences in the past 3 months were measured with the 15-item Community Assessment of Psychic Experiences. Associations between digital media use and psychotic experiences were estimated using a random-intercept cross-lagged panel model. Results: On average, individuals who reported greater digital media use also reported higher levels of psychotic experiences (r = 0.34, 95% CI 0.15, 0.53). However, a person’s variation in digital media use, relative to their personal average, was not significantly associated with subsequent variations in their levels of psychotic experiences, or vice-versa. Results were similar across TV/streaming, social media and video game use, and after adjusting for age, sex, education, sleep, physical activity, and cannabis use. Conclusion: Individuals with a tendency for higher levels of digital media use also had a tendency for higher levels of psychotic experiences. Understanding this association may help personalize mental health interventions for people with psychotic experiences, which may be offered digitally to promote their accessibility.