Social media addiction is increasing day by day and it is negatively affects on kids. Now, a new research study has shown that prolonged use of social media impairs children's mental health and prevents them from concentrating. This research included thousands of children of various age groups in the United States. The research was conducted by the Karolinska Institute in Sweden in collaboration with Oregon Health & Science University.
During the research, the researchers monitored the duration of various digital activities of the children. The children participating in the research spent an average of 2.3 hours watching TV or online videos, 1.4 hours using social media, and 1.5 hours playing video games. Of all these activities, only social media use was found to cause attention problems. Researchers say that social media is reducing children's attention span. The effect on an individual child may be minimal, but if a large population of children starts using social media excessively, the impact can be significant.
Professor Torkel Klingberg, the study's senior author, argues that social media poses a greater challenge than other digital media due to its constant stream of notifications and updates, which can negatively impact a child's brain development and concentration. The anticipation of messages further distracts children, hindering their ability to focus on play or studies.