Kids who spend their time glued to a glowing screen may be faring poorly psychologically, suggests new research from the University of Bristol in England. Psychologists tracked the amount of free time children aged 10 and 11 spent in front of the computer or television, their psychological states and their physical activity. The more screen time kids had, the more likely they were to report feelings of loneliness, sadness or negativity, regardless of their level of physical activity. The researchers cannot say whether computer or TV time contributes to the kids’ distress or whether children with preexisting mental health problems are drawn to video games and sitcoms. But either way, excessive use may be a warning sign of deeper psychological issues.

This article was originally published with the title Preteens and Glowing Screens.

2 Comments

1. 1. voxfuror 05:31 PM 1/25/11

   So, Johnny plays too many video games, Mom tells family PCP. He seems a bit sad as well. Doc puts him on an antidepressant, which in a couple months, tips him over to mania, so now he can be labeled with bipolar disorder & seem by a psychiatrist, who will put him on a regime of polypsychopharmacology, and tell him he must be on these drugs the rest of his life because he has a disease called mental illness. Then, he can go on disability (because he WILL be disabled by now) and be a mental patient the rest of his life. He will cost his state a fortune over his lifetime- millions of dollars in care alone, not to mention housing and other social benefits. Johnny will die 25 years early, due to the adverse effects of the drugs, but not before he racks up a second fortune in physical care for his co-morbid disorders. Happens with kiddos 250 times a DAY in the USA- plus 850 adults- over a thousand people a day in the US go on disability benefits for psychiatric disorders, then receive a treatment that creates the chronicity, morbidity & mortality issues. We can't go on like this- in 20 years, half the American population will be disabled & ill in mind, body & spirit. It's immoral. We can't afford it on any level. You should read Anatomy of an Epidemic- this is all hard science, from NIMH & WHO. They have known how damaging these drugs are from day one. They have suppressed the unfavorable studies and lied. They tell people they have a disease just like diabetes and must use medications for life to correct their chemical imbalance, and there isn't a shred of truth to it, not one study, not one biological marker, no real evidence of any genetic issue. It is 100% hypothesis & conjecture- and a big dose of marketing to go with it!

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2. 2. Artemis_Faust 05:44 PM 1/30/11

   Don't know about the lovely soliloquy preceding me,but I think the important thing to take away is that this study provided evidence suggesting social isolation makes people suffer from mental problems. Really Doctors, how would we have known otherwise. If they could have shown something novel, like a specific link between computers and bipolar disorders, that would be interesting. What this shows is that if I stick little Timmy in a box, he'll probably be a nut case.

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