Latest news with #DrJasonNagata
South China Morning Post
a day ago
- Health
- South China Morning Post
6 tips to help prevent gaming-related health problems like ‘gamer's thrombosis'
In video games, all players usually need to do to stay healthy is drink the occasional healing potion or perhaps grab a floating heart. Avoiding zombies and killer aliens helps, too. In real life, maintaining health while gaming is trickier. Luckily, it does not take a secret hack to stay well while playing, experts say – and some of their advice might even help you level up your game. Some aspects of gaming can even be good for you, says Dr Joanne Donoghue, director of clinical research at the New York Institute of Technology's College of Osteopathic Medicine, who has led several studies on professional gamers' health. Some action video games have been shown to improve reaction time and may help with multitasking, she says. And unlike gamers from earlier eras, modern players sitting with their headphones and microphones are ' live and interacting with a lot of people at one time . So there is a social component.' Excessive video game time can be associated with a lack of sleep and poor nutrition. Photo: TNS Dr Jason Nagata, an associate professor of paediatrics at the University of California, San Francisco, has studied the effects of screen time, including video games, on children and adolescents. He says digital media is 'not inherently good or bad. There are some risks, but also some benefits.'
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
UCSF study finds link between pre-teens' social media use and depression symptoms
OAKLAND, Calif. - Pre-teens who increased their social media use had an average 35% increase in symptoms of depression, according to new research led by a University of California San Francisco pediatrician, which was published Wednesday in JAMA and the Lancet. "Feelings of sadness, loneliness, loss of energy, loss of appetite or even sleep disturbances," Dr. Jason Nagata, a pediatrician and associate professor with UCSF, said. Nagata was the lead researcher and said the study involved children from sites nationwide. "I think one of the strengths of this study is that we had 12,000 9-year-olds whom we followed every year for four years," Nagata said. Nagata said the average social media time was only seven minutes a day at the start of the study, but four years later, the children averaged 73 minutes a day, despite social media companies setting rules on underage use. "Technically, the minimum age requirement for social media is 13. So, this actually represented underage use, where the kids would have had to lie about their age to get an account," Nagata said. "By age 12, two-thirds of the sample did have social media accounts, underage accounts. And on average, they had three accounts or more. The most common accounts were TikTok, Snapchat, and Instagram," he added. The National Institutes of Health, which helped fund Nagata's study, estimates nearly 40% of all children ages 8-12 use social media. Nagata says the study also found an impact on children's sleep. "The most active time of phone use for the kids was right before bedtime. And we already know that teenagers don't get enough sleep. And sleep is so important for growth and development and mental health as well as attention at school," Nagata said. Some Oakland parents say their children do use social media. "I'd say Instagram and uses it probably two hours a day or so," Veronica Arevalo, an Oakland parent of a 13-year-old middle school student said. Some have concerns, though, about the impacts. "Maybe to use as a way to communicate with friends or make plans, but I think in general that kind of technology is a little on kids a little earlier than it needs to be," Alec MacDonald, a father with a 12-year-old, said. Nagata says social media can positively impact children, but he hopes the study will prompt parents to talk with their kids. He says the American Pediatric Association has a website to help families create a family media use plan. Nagata also says it's important for parents to set a good example. "Parents' media use is the biggest predictor of their kids' use. So if you make rules about media use, you should try to follow them and practice what you preach." Nagata says he hopes to continue this research and follow these teenagers all the way until they reach the age of 20, and hopefully gain better insights into how social media impacts the brain. Jana Katsuyama is a reporter for KTVU. Email Jana at Call her at 510-326-5529. Or follow her on Twitter @JanaKTVU and read her other reports on her bio page.
Daily Mail
21-05-2025
- Health
- Daily Mail
Parents who give smartphones to children could be driving a frighteningly common illness, scientists discover
Letting children use social media sites like Instagram and TikTok is putting them at risk of depression in their teen years, experts have suggested. The link between mental health problems and social media use has long been established — but experts have said this is likely because unhappy children are more likely to turn to social media for distraction and comfort. But now, a study of 12,000 9-12 year-olds based in the US seems to have poured cold water on this theory. The researchers discovered that depressed nine and 10 year-olds were no more likely than happy ones to spend more time on social media as they approached age 13. However, 12 and 13 year-olds who spent the most time on social media showed the highest rate of depressive symptoms. On average, the daily time spent on social media increased from just seven minutes to over an hour once the children reached their early teens. This, the scientists from the University of California San Francisco suggested, indicates that 'social media may be contributing to the development of depressive symptoms'. Dr Jason Nagata, an expert in paediatrics at the University of California San Francisco and leader of the new research, said prior research suggested cyber bullying and a lack of sleep could be two potential drivers of the problem. It comes as official data suggests nearly a quarter of children in England have a mental disorder like depression, up from one in five a year prior. The research, published in the online journal Jama Network Open, cited previous work showing children aged 11-to-12 who had experienced cyber bullying were more than two-and-half-times more likely to attempt suicide in a year compared to those who didn't experience online harassment. The researchers said parents and children unfortunately face 'a catch-22' situation regarding social media. Despite mounting evidence of the harms it remains the primary way for them to connect and communicate with their peers. Dr Nagata: 'As a father of two young kids, I know that simply telling children to "get off your phone" doesn't really work.' However, he added there are steps parents can take to help protect their children. 'Parents can lead by example with open, nonjudgmental conversations about screen use,' he said. 'Setting screen-free times for the whole family, such as during meals or before bed, can help build healthier digital habits for everyone, including adults.' However British experts have criticised the study, saying the observed link between social media use and depression was 'weak'. Professor Chris Ferguson, an expert in psychology at Stetson University in Florida, said there was no need for parents to panic in response to the findings. 'This study finds little evidence that earlier social media time is associated with later mental health,' he said. 'The effect sizes reported are so small they are likely to be due to statistical noise, not real effects.' In the study, researchers examined data from 11,876 children who took part in the research project between 2016 and 2018—and followed them up for three years. Social media use was calculated via an annual survey of the children, while depressive symptoms were measured via interviews with their parents or care provider. The researchers said a limitation of this work was it required the children to be truthful about their social media use, which could not be guaranteed. They added further research could examine how exactly social media causes depression—and if factors like time of day it's used or the specific the device at play could be involved. There have been increasing calls for more action to be taken on cyber bulling in the UK, with campaigners urging for ministers to make it a criminal offence. One bereaved parent calling for change is Mariano Janin. His daughter Mia, 14, took her own life in 2021 after been subjected to 'hostile' bullying by male students in-person and over social media.
