- Image by YlvaS via Flickr
An recent article on US News and World Report explores an interesting study concerning teen depression and television usage:
“So, Brian Primack, a pediatrician at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine who studies how teenagers’ use of media affects their health, analyzed survey data that followed 4,142 teenagers from 1995 to 2002. Teenagers who watched TV were more likely to report symptoms of depression, with the rate increasing 8 percent with every hour of TV watched.”
The needs of teens when it comes to depression are diverse, and one thing this study may be picking up on is the tendency for depressed individual to seek an escape from their problems. For parents, its an interesting potential indicator to consider when monitoring the overall health of a child, especially struggling teens who seem prone to depression.
