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Research Suggests Social Media Benefit to Kids

MRI of adolescent brain activated during a memory task in the NIH study. Credit: Dr. Richard Watts and ABCD/Univ. of VT P.I. Dr. Hugh Garavan.
Findings in a study by the National Institutes of Health offer an unexpected challenge to the common-sense notion that all time children spend in front of a screen is equally harmful. The study affirms that children’s consumption of general media, such as Internet, television, and video games, correlates with worse sleep and more family conflict. However, the data also indicates a correlation between greater use of social media, such as texting or scrolling through Instagram posts, with positive effects, such as increased physical activity, less family conflict, and fewer sleep problems. These findings are part of 30 terabytes of data released by the NIH with regard to the first 45 out of a total of 75 youth and their families who participated in the massive brain development study.

Read more about this specific aspect of the study on NPR

Read more about the overall study at NIH

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