Anxiety Signals

Screen-Based Activities and Risk of Self-Harm and Suicidal Behaviors Among Young People: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

This systematic review and meta-analysis, published in the journal Psychiatry Research, pools findings from multiple studies to examine how screen-based activities relate to self-harm and suicidal behaviors among young people. Combining data across the included studies, the authors report a consistent association between higher levels of certain screen-based activities and increased odds of self-harm and suicidal behaviors, with the strength of the association varying by the type of activity studied — for example, social media versus gaming versus general screen time. As a meta-analysis, this study synthesizes correlational evidence from many settings rather than proving that screen use directly causes self-harm; the authors describe self-harm and suicidal behavior as outcomes shaped by many interacting risk factors. TechKids Foundation treats this meta-analysis as strong, aggregated evidence that certain patterns of screen-based activity are linked to elevated self-harm risk in young people, phrased here strictly as association, never as single-cause proof.