Social media use damages children’s ability to focus, say researchers
Increased use of social media by children damages their concentration levels and may be contributing to an increase in cases of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, according to a study.The peer-reviewed report monitored the development of more than 8,300 US-based children from the age of 10 to 14 and linked social media use to “increased inattention symptoms”.Reseachers at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden and the Oregon Health & Science University in the US found that children spent an average of 2.3 hours a day watching television or online videos, 1.4 hours on social media and 1.
5 hours playing video games.No link was found between ADHD-related symptoms – such as being easily distracted – and playing video games or watching TV and YouTube.However, the study found that social media use over a period of time was associated with an increase in inattention symptoms in children.ADHD is a neurodevelopmental disorder with symptoms including impulsiveness, forgetting everyday tasks and difficulty focusing.“We identified an association between social media use and increased inattention symptoms, interpreted here as a likely causal effect,” said the study.
“Although the effect size is small at individual level, it could have significant consequences if behaviour changes across population level,These findings suggest that social media use may contribute to rising incidence of ADHD diagnoses,”Torkel Klingberg, a professor of cognitive neuroscience at the Karolinska Institute, said: “Our study suggests that it is specifically social media that affects children’s ability to concentrate,“Social media entails constant distractions in the form of messages and notifications, and the mere thought of whether a message has arrived can act as a mental distraction,This affects the ability to stay focused and could explain the association.
”The study found the ADHD link was not affected by socioeconomic background or a genetic predisposition towards the condition.Klingberg added that increased use of social media may explain part of the increase in ADHD diagnoses.Its prevalence among children has risen from 9.5% in 2003-07 to 11.3% in 2020-22, according to the US national survey of children’s health.
The researchers stressed the results did not imply all children who used social media developed concentration problems.But they pointed to increased use of social media by children as they got older and to children using social media well before they turned 13, the minimum age for apps such as TikTok and Instagram.The report said: “This early and increasing social media use underscores the need for stricter age verification and clearer guidelines for tech companies.”The study found a steady increase in social media use from about 30 minutes a day at age nine to two and a half hours a day by age 13.The children were enrolled for the study at the ages of nine and 10 between 2016 and 2018.
The study will be published in the Pediatrics Open Science journal.“We hope that our findings will help parents and policymakers make well-informed decisions on healthy digital consumption that support children’s cognitive development,” said Samson Nivins, one of the study’s authors and a postdoctoral researcher at the Karolinska Institute.
Barbican revamp to give ‘bewildering’ arts centre a new lease of life
Project will make the famously confusing London landmark easier to navigate and more accessible“Everything leaks,” says Philippa Simpson, the director of buildings and renewal at the Barbican, who is standing outside the venue’s lakeside area and inspecting the tired-looking tiles beneath her feet.Water seeps through the cracks into the building below and serves as a reminder of the job facing Simpson and the team who are overhauling the 43-year-old landmark.The first phase of the project will cost £231m, and Simpson – who did a similar, if less daunting, job for the Young V&A in east London – hopes it will be finished in time for the 50th anniversary in 2032. The overall bill is estimated to be £451m.A mammoth task awaits her
A minimalist statement or just Pantonedeaf? ‘Cloud dancer’ shade of white named Pantone’s 2026 colour of the year
Hi, Emma! I’m so pumped to find out what colour 2026 is going to be. Fill me in!Brace yourself, Nick. Every year since 1999 Pantone chooses a colour for the year, a representation of the zeitgeist – from how we’re feeling to what we’re wearing, how we’re styling our homes and even our eyebrows. Last year’s was the darker shade of beige “mocha mousse”, the year before that was the soft, warm “peach fuzz”.This year’s pick is even more baffling
Jimmy Kimmel on Pete Hegseth, ‘our secretary of war crimes’
Late-night hosts tore into Pete Hegseth’s Venezuelan boat blame game, Donald Trump’s cabinet meeting naps and the annual Spotify Wrapped lists.Jimmy Kimmel opened his Wednesday-evening monologue with an acknowledgement of a yearly tradition: the annual Spotify Wrapped list, documenting users’ listening habits for the year.“This Spotify, they really have it figured out,” he said. “They spy on you all year. It’s what they do
Jimmy Kimmel on the Trump administration: ‘They have better-quality cabinets at Ikea’
Late-night hosts tore into Donald Trump’s five-hour Truth Social posting spree and his inability to stay awake during cabinet meetings.Jimmy Kimmel wasted no time in returning to his favorite target – Donald Trump – on Tuesday evening. “I know I’ve said this before, but for real this time: he went completely off the rails last night,” the host began. “The man who is allegedly running the country banged out an onslaught of posts and reposts in a furious social media blitzkrieg that started at 7.09pm, went nonstop until almost midnight
Norman conquest coin hoard to go on show in Bath before permanent display
The coins were buried in a valley in the English West Country almost 1,000 years ago at a time of huge political and social turmoil.A millennium on, plans have been announced to bring the Chew Valley Hoard, 2,584 silver coins hidden shortly after the Norman conquest, back to the south-west of England.The feelgood story of how the coins, worth more than £4m, were found by a band of metal detectorists will be told but visitors will also be encouraged to reflect on how the world continues to be gripped by worries about conflict, the actions of the powerful and money.Sam Astill, the chief executive of South West Heritage Trust, which acquired the hoard for the nation last year, said the idea was not just about showing off the coins and telling their history.He said: “There will also be a conversation about turning points, turning points in history or in people’s lives
Comedian Judi Love: ‘I’m a big girl, the boss, and you love it’
Judi Love was 17 when she was kidnapped, though she adds a couple of years on when reliving it on stage. It was only the anecdote’s second to-audience outing when I watched her recite it, peppered with punchlines, at a late-October work-in-progress gig. The bones of her new show – All About the Love, embarking on a 23-date tour next year – are very much still evolving, but this Wednesday night in Bedford is a sell out, such is the pull of Love’s telly star power.She starts by twerking her way into the spotlight, before riffing on her career as a social worker and trading “chicken and chips for champagne and ceviche”. Interspersed are opening bouts of sharp crowd work – Love at her free-wheeling best
Great British Railways flies the flag as logo goes back to the future
Why has Paramount Skydance launched a hostile bid for Warner Bros Discovery – and what happens now?
Paramount launches $108.4bn hostile bid for Warner Bros Discovery
Anglo American’s merger bonus was a pay wheeze too far | Nils Pratley
Paramount Skydance makes $108.4bn bid for Warner Bros Discovery, challenging Netflix’s offer – as it happened
Bank of England cutting jobs as part of overhaul after critical Bernanke review