Too much screen time increases suicidal thoughts for college students

Excessive screen time increases suicidal thoughts in college students, a new study finds.

Editor’s note: This article discusses suicide and may be distressing for some readers. If you or someone you know is impacted by these issues or is considering suicide, a list of resources, including the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, is available at the bottom of the story.

“We found that both excessive screen time and experiences of online harassment were independently and significantly linked to increased risk of suicidal ideation among college students,” says Seungbin Oh, a Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine assistant professor of mental health counseling and behavioral medicine who led the research.

The study focused on US college students—the majority aged 18 to 25—and used data from the Healthy Minds Network, a coalition of researchers that includes BU; the University of California, Los Angeles; the University of Michigan; and Wayne State University.

The results appears in the American Journal of Public Health.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, suicide rates among 10- to 24-year-olds leapt 62% from 2007 to 2021, making it the second leading cause of death among young people in 2021.

Here, Oh speaks about his findings:

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