The DOI matches its Crossref record; 49 of the 50 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Media use and depression: exposure, household rules, and symptoms among young adolescents in the USA
Open accessAbstract
Objectives To determine the longitudinal and cross-sectional associations between different types of electronic media use (mobile phones, TV, computers, video games, and music) and young adolescents' depressive symptoms, and to explore the potential for household media rules to reduce young people's depression.Methods 126 young adolescents were recruited from the Northeastern USA. Each type of media use was assessed using survey questions, time use diaries, and ecological momentary assessment. The Beck Depression Index for Primary Care was administered at baseline and 1 year later as part of a questionnaire that also included items assessing the presence of household rules about TV and video games.Results Baseline use of mobile phones and TV viewing were associated with higher levels of depression 1 year later controlling for demographic information and baseline depression score. Having household rules about TV at baseline predicted lower levels of depression at follow-up.Conclusions Both TV viewing and mobile phone use may contribute to the development of depressive symptoms. Implementing household rules about the duration and content of TV could help reduce depression in young adolescents.
Overview
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Verification
Claims the paper makes
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
In the citing paper
“First, all included studies utilised self-report or parent-reported measures of both screen time and mental health outcomes; no studies meeting the inclusion criteria utilised clinician-rated measures of mental health, and only one study utilised EMA to measure screen time (Bickham et al., 2015).”
From The relationship between screen time and mental health in young people: A systematic review of longitudinal studies (2021) · cites this paper as Bickham et al., 2015
Self-check
Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.
The self-check needs the paper’s full text.
Citations
Cites
Internet paradox: A social technology that reduces social involvement and psychological well-being?
Kraut, R., Patterson, M., Lundmark, V., Kiesler, S., Mukophadhyay, T., & Scherlis, W. (1998) · American Psychologist · doi:10.1037/0003-066x.53.9.1017 · Cited by 4,793 · cited 2×
“tigations found that time spent online was associated with loneliness, isolation, and depression (Kraut et al. 1998), but follow-up work showed that negative effects diminish over time and demonstrated some positive effects on well-being (Kraut et al.”
BackgroundKraut, R. E., Kiesler, S. B., Boneva, B. S., Cummings, J. N., Helgeson, V. S., & Crawford, A. M. (2002) · Journal of Social Issues · doi:10.1111/1540-4560.00248 · Cited by 2,367 · cited 1×
“Initially, investigations found that time spent online was associated with loneliness, isolation, and depression (Kraut et al. 1998), but follow-up work showed that negative effects diminish over time and demonstrated some positive effects on well-being (Kraut et al. 2002).”
BackgroundMeasuring the Functional Components of Social Support
Cohen, S., Mermelstein, R., Kamarck, T., & Hoberman, H. M. (1985) · Social Support: Theory, Research and Applications · doi:10.1007/978-94-009-5115-0_5 · Cited by 2,296 · cited 1×
“Theories of social support, however, indicate that communications through mobile phones may not cultivate the strong social bonds that reduce stress and lead to positive psychological outcomes (Cohen et al. 1985).”
BackgroundGeneration M2: Media in the Lives of 8- to 18-Year-Olds
Foehr, U. G., Rideout, V. J., & Roberts, D. F. (2010) · Cited by 2,197
Generation M2 : Media in the Lives of 8- to 18-year-olds
Rideout, V. (2010) · Medical Entomology and Zoology · Cited by 2,016
Thomée, S., Härenstam, A., & Hagberg, M. (2011) · BMC Public Health · doi:10.1186/1471-2458-11-66 · Cited by 1,269 · cited 4×
“Similarly, the mobile phone results correspond with evidence that heavy mobile phone users are more likely to suffer from depression (Augner and Hacker 2012; Sanchez-Martinez and Otero 2009; Thomée et al. 2011; Yen et al. 2009).”
BackgroundInfluentialSocial Comparison and the Idealized Images of Advertising
Richins, M. L. (1991) · Journal of Consumer Research · doi:10.1086/209242 · Cited by 962 · cited 1×
“Advertising research does indicate that the representation of attractive people leading exciting and idealized lifestyles may invite social comparison and contribute to dissatisfaction with oneself (Richins 1991).”
BackgroundChildren, Adolescents, and the Media
Strasburger, V. C., Hogan, M. J., Mulligan, D. A., Ameenuddin, N., Christakis, D., Cross, C., Fagbuyi, D. B., Hill, D. L., Levine, A. E., McCarthy, C., et al. (2013) · PEDIATRICS · doi:10.1542/peds.2013-2656 · Cited by 925
Ybarra, M. L., Diener-West, M., & Leaf, P. J. (2007) · Journal of Adolescent Health · doi:10.1016/j.jadohealth.2007.09.004 · Cited by 775 · cited 1×
“In the realm of cyberbullying, experts often point to the constant connectivity of mobile phones as a contributor to the intensity of this type of harassment (Law et al. 2012; Ybarra et al. 2007).”
BackgroundBeck, A. T., Guth, D., Steer, R. A., & Ball, R. (1997) · Behaviour Research and Therapy · doi:10.1016/s0005-7967(97)00025-9 · Cited by 733 · cited 4×
“Participants’ depression was assessed using six items from the Beck Depression Inventory for Primary Care (Beck et al. 1997).”
MethodResultInfluential
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Items 101–134 of 134
Sheng, J., Zhang, H., Song, Y., Lou, H., Wu, C., Hao, C., Li, R., Gao, G., Lou, X., & Wang, X. (2024) · Clinical Pediatrics · doi:10.1177/00099228241273420 · Cited by 2
“70 Second, the process of body inflammation may also be a potential link between SB and mental disorders.”
Screen Usage and Social Media Motives in Gender and Sexual Minority Adolescents
Cormier, M., Murray, N. E., Li, S., Hossne, J. S., Marin-Dragu, S., Muzamil, M., Bagnell, A. L., Sherry, S., Orji, R., Stewart, S. H., et al. (2026) · Archives of Sexual Behavior · doi:10.1007/s10508-025-03367-0 · Cited by 2
Screen Time and Mental Health Among Adolescents
Ranjit, K., Ntlantsana, V., Tomita, A. M., & Paruk, S. (2022) · The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease · doi:10.1097/nmd.0000000000001509 · Cited by 2
Liu, W., Yu, J., She, X., Wang, H., Min, W. A. N. G., Abbey, C., Singh, M. K., Rozelle, S., & Tong, L. (2024) · Current Psychology · doi:10.1007/s12144-024-06642-w · Cited by 3
“Such an association was also prevalent in longitudinal studies (Bickham et al., 2015; Wu et al., 2016; Khouja et al., 2019a; Riehm et al., 2019).”
Sarıtepeci, M., Balıkçı, H. C., & Ermiş, U. F. (2025) · Quality & Quantity · doi:10.1007/s11135-025-02076-z · Cited by 2
“In addition, excessive screen time can lead to physical health problems, predominantly obesity and vision problems (Bickham & Hswen 2015).”
The Impact of Electronic Devices on Children's Behaviour
Al-Sammak, N. I. M., Younis, M. A., Abdulrhman, A. A., Thanoon, M. A., Salim, U. A., Khalil, R. M., & Muhammed, H. T. (2025) · Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health · doi:10.1111/jpc.70043 · Cited by 2
Aleksić, V. (2019) · Advances in educational technologies and instructional design book series · doi:10.4018/978-1-7998-0253-2.ch006 · Cited by 2
Digital Technology Use among Adolescents in a Psychiatric Inpatient Setting
Hossien, S. A., Sharma, E., & Girimaji, S. C. (2021) · Indian Journal of Social Psychiatry · doi:10.4103/ijsp.ijsp_219_21 · Cited by 3
Is social media use related to sleep quality, self-esteem, anxiety and depression in adolescence?
Scott, H. (2015) · e-space (Manchester Metropolitan University) · Cited by 2
Jeux vidéo à l’adolescence : paradoxes en temps de pandémie
Lesimple, P., Verley, J.-B., Laplace, B., & Olliac, B. (2021) · Neuropsychiatrie de l Enfance et de l Adolescence · doi:10.1016/j.neurenf.2021.10.002 · Cited by 1
Liu, R., Lyu, Q., Liu, X., Zou, Y., Liu, J., Yu, Y., & Zhou, X. (2026) · BMC Psychology · doi:10.1186/s40359-026-04087-3 · Cited by 1
“The result was consistent with the research conducted by Mingli Liu et al. [57], and this finding was further corroborated by evidence linking baseline mobile phone usage to heightened depressive symptoms in adolescents after a one-year follow-up [58].”
Insufficient quality of mental health information on German-speaking TikTok: A content analysis
Mross, A. L., Takahashi, H., Koelkebeck, K., & Langenbach, B. P. (2026) · Clinical Psychology in Europe · doi:10.32872/cpe.17279 · Cited by 3
“…those who experience symptoms like attention deficits, anxiety, sleep problems or depressive mood, as they have already been shown to exhibit excessive social media use or a higher risk of social media misuse (Bickham et al., 2015; Bozzola et al., 2022; Hoge et al., 2017; Montag & Markett, 2024).”
Sheikh, M. N. (2021) · Journal of the Dow University of Health Sciences · doi:10.36570/jduhs.2021.2.1138 · Cited by 1
Porras, A., Rodney‐Hernández, P., Jackson, J., Nguyen, C. H., & Rincón‐Cortés, M. (2024) · Scientific Reports · doi:10.1038/s41598-024-78928-9 · Cited by 2
Tecnoliquidità: nuovi scenari (evolutivi?) per la salute mentale
Cantelmi, T., & Lambiase, E. (2017) · MODELLI DELLA MENTE · doi:10.3280/mdm1-2017oa4939 · Cited by 1
Kleszczewska, D. W., Siedlecka, J., & Mazur, J. (2019) · Pediatria Polska · doi:10.5114/polp.2019.83739 · Cited by 1
“They may have biological grounds, such as hormonal changes associated with puberty and genetic determinants, as well as social causes [5].”
BackgroundPizzo, A., Drobinin, V., Sandstrom, A., Zwicker, A., Vallis, E. H., Fine, A., Rempel, S., Stephens, M., Howard, C., Villars, K., et al. (2019) · Psychiatry Research · doi:10.1016/j.psychres.2019.112709 · Cited by 1
Bazanova, O. M., & Kovaleva, A. V. (2022) · Human Physiology · doi:10.1134/s0362119722030021 · Cited by 1
Relación entre la distribución del tiempo y las nuevas tecnologías en los adolescentes
Tapia, L. D. M. (2016) · doi:10.36443/10259/4608 · Cited by 1
Educating Patients through Clinicians: The CMCH Clinician Toolkit
Kavanaugh, J. R., & Lavallee, K. (2020) · Journal of Consumer Health on the Internet · doi:10.1080/15398285.2020.1753998
“…to suffer from health complications such as obesity (Robinson et al. 2017), heightened anxiety (Glover and Fritsch 2018), exacerbated depression (Bickham, Hswen, and Rich 2015), eating disorders (Saul and Rodgers 2018), sleep disorders (Hale and Guan 2015), and other concerns impacting their…”
BackgroundEXCESSIVE USAGE OF SMARTPHONE AND PSYCHOLOGICAL WELLBEING: A REVIEW
Kumar, A. (2018) · Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research
Johansen, C., Reynolds, K., Xie, B., & Palmer, P. (2021) · Hispanic Health Care International · doi:10.1177/15404153211029893
“Research suggests that teens use mobile phones 3.9 hr/day (Bickham et al., 2015) and tablets for many activities (e.g., social media, texting, web-surfing) throughout the day.”
BackgroundInfluentialDoes Parenting Styles Matter for Child Behavior Problem? The Role of Digital LiteracyPreprint
Purnama, S., Wibowo, A., Narmaditya, B. S., Fitriyah, Q. F., & ‘Aziz, H. (2022) · SSRN Electronic Journal · doi:10.2139/ssrn.4047108
The Meaning of Life and its Influence on Adolescent Mobile Phone Addiction: An Exploratory Study
Zhao, Y. (2023) · IRA-International Journal of Management & Social Sciences · doi:10.21013/jmss.v19.n1.p1
Đumić, T. (2024) · Media culture and public relations · doi:10.32914/mcpr.14.1.4
Hussain, A., & Samreen, S. (2024) · SciBase epidemiology and public health. · doi:10.52768/epidemiology/1019 · Cited by 2
Kim, J., Kang, J., Glassman, M., & Kang, M. J. (2024) · European Journal of Developmental Psychology · doi:10.1080/17405629.2024.2376905
“Based on prior studies (Bickham et al., 2015; Conners-Burrow et al., 2011), a composite variable was constructed by calculating the average screen time per day.”
Zarate, D., Stavropoulos, V., Ball, M., de Sena Collier, G., & Jacobson, N. C. (2022) · Figshare · doi:10.6084/m9.figshare.20131117
Zarate, D., Stavropoulos, V., Ball, M., de Sena Collier, G., & Jacobson, N. C. (2022) · Figshare · doi:10.6084/m9.figshare.20131114
Xie, Q.-W., Chen, R., & Zhou, X. (2023) · Figshare · doi:10.6084/m9.figshare.22613750
Screen time, social support, and depression among international university students
Sadeghiyan, M., Viljoen, S. J., Turner, A., Hasbini, W., & James-Keating, C. (2025) · Revista Estudios Psicológicos · doi:10.35622/j.rep.2025.03.003
Dergaa, I., Chalghaf, N., Razzak, M., Muntean, R. I., Ștefănică, V., & Ceylan, H. İ. (2026) · JMIR Mental Health · doi:10.2196/98200
Yang, Y., Ye, Q., Peng, Z., Cai, W., Wen, J., Zhang, J., & Lan, Y. (2026) · BMC Psychiatry · doi:10.1186/s12888-026-08452-9
Caproni, B., Dreier, M. J., Fedor, J., Low, C. A., & Hamilton, J. L. (2026) · Journal of Technology in Behavioral Science · doi:10.1007/s41347-026-00711-6
Metadata
- Authors
- Bickham, D. S., Hswen, Y., & Rich, M.
- Affiliations
- Harvard University (US)
- Boston Children's Hospital (US)
- Corresponding author
- Bickham, David S.
- Venue
- International Journal of Public Health
- Published
- 2015-01-14
- Volume
- 60
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 147-155
- ISSN
- 1661-8556 (ISSN-L)
- 1661-8564
- PMC
- PMC4375733
- OpenAlex
- W2002043486
- Cited by
- 134
- References
- 50
- Citations by year
- 2026: 6 · 2025: 9 · 2024: 9 · 2023: 14 · 2022: 14 · 2021: 18 · 2020: 14 · 2019: 15 · 2018: 17 · 2017: 9 · 2016: 5 · 2015: 4
- FWCI
- 38.60
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Licence
- www.springer.com/tdm (tdm)
- Locations
- International Journal of Public Health (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
- RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
- eScholarship (California Digital Library) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- National Institutes of Health
- National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
- Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (R21HD054734)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Impact of Technology on Adolescents
- Social Sciences › Education › Child Development and Digital Technology
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development
- Keywords
- media use, depression, depressive symptoms, early adolescents, mobile phone use, television viewing, video games, computer use, music listening, screen time, time use, ecological momentary assessment
- MeSH terms
- Adolescent, Adolescent Behavior, Age Factors, Child, Computers, Cross-Sectional Studies, Depression, Family Characteristics, Female, Humans, Male, Mass Media, Surveys and Questionnaires, Sex Factors, Time Factors, United States, Parenting, Risk Assessment, Video Games, Cell Phone, Sedentary Behavior
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review