New media linked to health risks in teens

EXCESSIVE USE of mobile phone texting and long hours spent social networking may pose health risks for young people, according to new research.

Heavy use of texting and online networking is associated with higher adolescent alcohol and cigarette use, as well as binge drinking and drugs.

Those involved in “hypertexting” and “hypernetworking” are also much more likely to have had sex with a high incidence of multiple partners, according to the study by researchers from the Case Western Reserve School of Medicine in Cleveland.

There were few studies assessing possible links between new media use and poorer health outcomes, according to lead researcher, Dr Scott Frank.

His group undertook a survey of 4,257 secondary school students from urban schools, looking at engagement with texting and social networking and health and social status.

The researchers presented their findings yesterday at the American Public Health Association’s 138th annual meeting in Denver.

They defined hypertexting as sending more than 120 texts during a school day, and hypernetworking as spending more than three hours in a school day on social networking sites.

Of their sample, almost one in five teens sent more than 120 texts in a day while more than one in 10 reported three hours or more of online social networking daily.

After controlling for demographic factors, hypertexting and hypernetworking were associated with higher levels of sexual activity, sex partners, perceived stress and “suicide ideation”, the researchers said.

They were also more likely to use alcohol, binge drink and use marijuana and tobacco, were more likely to be obese and to have eating disorders. These students tended to be female, from minorities, in female-headed households and with lower socioeconomic status.

The researchers also reported that the roughly 22 per cent of students not involved in texting or online networking enjoyed “better health outcomes”.

Looking specifically at hyper-texters, they were twice as likely to have tried alcohol and 3½ times more likely to have had sex. They were more than 40 per cent more likely to be binge drinkers and use drugs and 90 per cent more likely to report four or more sexual partners.

“The startling results of this study suggest that when left unchecked, texting and other widely popular methods of staying connected can have dangerous health effects on teenagers,” Dr Frank said.