More teen TV time and depression

Greater exposure to TV during the teenage years appears to raise the risk of depression in young adulthood, especially among males. Researchers from America studied the media habits of 4,142 healthy non-depressed adolescents. They asked the adolescents how many hours they spent during the last week watching TV or videos, playing computer games or listening to the radio. The adolescents reported an average of 6 hours of media exposure each day, including 2 hours of TV viewing per day. Seven years later (at an average age of 22), the subjects were screened and 308 (7 percent) were found to have symptoms of depression. For each hour of TV viewed per day, the teens were found to have a statistically significant greater likelihood of developing depression in young adulthood. Given the same amount of media exposure, young women were less likely to develop symptoms of depression than were young men. The researchers did not find a consistent relationship between development of depressive symptoms and exposure to videocassettes, computer games, or radio. There are several possible ways by, which media exposure could boost the risk of depression. The time spent watching TV or using other electronic media may replace time spent socialising, participating in sports or engaging in intellectual activities - all of, which may protect against depression. Watching TV at night may disrupt sleep, which is important for normal brain and emotional development. In addition, messages transmitted through the media may reinforce aggression and other risky behaviours, interfere with identity development or inspire fear and anxiety. The above study breaks new ground in linking media use in adolescence to the development of depressive symptoms in young adulthood.

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