Meta-Analysis

Screen-Based Activities and Risk of Self-Harm and Suicidal Behaviors Among Young People: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Jan 2024 🇺🇸 Psychiatry Research PEER-REVIEWED PAYWALLED — LINKED, NOT HOSTED

Suicide and self-harm are complex and never caused by one factor alone. Problematic screen use, cyberbullying, harmful content, and online exploitation may increase risk or intensify existing distress. If someone is in immediate danger or emotional crisis in the United States, call or text 988.

Outside the U.S.? Find your local helpline at findahelpline.com.

This systematic review and meta-analysis, published in the journal Psychiatry Research, pools findings from multiple studies to examine how screen-based activities relate to self-harm and suicidal behaviors among young people. Combining data across the included studies, the authors report a consistent association between higher levels of certain screen-based activities and increased odds of self-harm and suicidal behaviors, with the strength of the association varying by the type of activity studied — for example, social media versus gaming versus general screen time. As a meta-analysis, this study synthesizes correlational evidence from many settings rather than proving that screen use directly causes self-harm; the authors describe self-harm and suicidal behavior as outcomes shaped by many interacting risk factors. TechKids Foundation treats this meta-analysis as strong, aggregated evidence that certain patterns of screen-based activity are linked to elevated self-harm risk in young people, phrased here strictly as association, never as single-cause proof.

Meta-analysis, multiple studies pooled

Synthesizes findings across many individual studies rather than relying on any single sample.

Consistent association

Higher levels of certain screen-based activities were consistently associated with increased odds of self-harm and suicidal behaviors across pooled studies.

Varies by activity type

Strength of the association differed depending on the type of screen-based activity studied.

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CITATION

Psychiatry Research: Screen-based activities and risk of self-harm and suicidal behaviors among young people — systematic review and meta-analysis, 2024. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0165178124002762

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Government Report

Frequent Social Media Use and Experiences with Bullying Victimization, Persistent Feelings of Sadness or Hopelessness, and Suicide Risk

This CDC Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report supplement analyzes 2023 Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) data on U.S. high school students, examining how frequent social media use relates to experiences with bullying victimization, persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness, and suicide-risk indicators such as having seriously considered or attempted suicide. Students who reported more frequent social media use also reported higher rates of being bullied — including online — and higher rates of persistent sadness, hopelessness, and suicide-risk indicators, compared with students reporting less frequent use. The report presents these as patterns observed across a large national survey, not as evidence that social media use by itself causes bullying or suicide risk; suicide and self-harm are complex outcomes shaped by many factors together. TechKids Foundation cites this report to describe cyberbullying and self-harm risk as warning signs associated with heavy social media use, never as a single-cause claim.

Jan 2024 🇺🇸 CDC
Peer-Reviewed Study PEER-REVIEWED

Screen Time and Suicidal Behaviors Among U.S. Children 9–11: A Prospective Cohort Study

Published in the journal Preventive Medicine, this prospective cohort study followed a large sample of U.S. children ages 9–11 over time to see whether screen time was associated with later suicidal behaviors, including suicidal ideation and attempts. Children with higher baseline screen time were more likely to report suicidal behaviors at follow-up than children with lower screen time, even after the researchers accounted for other measured factors. Because the study tracked the same children over time rather than comparing them at one moment, it offers a stronger design than a single snapshot survey — but the authors are clear that suicidal behavior in children has many contributing causes, and screen time is one associated risk factor among several, not a standalone cause. TechKids Foundation cites this study as one of the stronger pieces of evidence linking heavy screen time in younger children to elevated self-harm risk over time.

Jan 2023 🇺🇸 Preventive Medicine
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