Study finds link between computer access, youth's psychological health

Have you been wondering why there has been a spike in mental health issues among young people especially after the Covid-19 pandemic?

Well, researchers at Cambridge say they have found a correlation between youth and adolescent mental health during Covid-19 lockdowns and access to computers. The experts believe that young people faced the most difficulties and that the mental health of those without access to a computer tended to deteriorate to a greater extent than that of their peers who did have access to the gadgets.

According to Scientific Reports, a global peer-reviewed scientific journal, the pandemic had a significant effect on young people’s mental health, with evidence of rising levels of anxiety, depression, and psychological distress. 

They further explain that adolescence is a period when people are particularly vulnerable to developing mental health disorders, which can have long-lasting consequences into adulthood. 

The study’s senior author Dr Amy Orben is of the view that “rather than always focusing on the downsides of digital technology on young people’s mental health, there is need to recognise that it can have important benefits and may act as a buffer for their mental health during times of acute social isolation, such as the lockdown.

“We don’t know if and when a future lockdown will occur, but our research shows that we need to start thinking urgently how we can tackle digital inequalities and help protect the mental health of our young people in times when their regular in-person social networks are disrupted.”

According to data from the UK, the mental health of children and adolescents was already deteriorating before the pandemic, but the proportion of people in this age group likely to be experiencing a mental health disorder increased from 11 per cent in 2017 to 16 per cent in July 2020. The pandemic led to the closure of schools and an increase in online schooling, the impacts of which were not felt equally. 

The findings show that those adolescents without access to a computer faced the greatest disruption: in one study 30 per cent of school students from middle-class homes reported taking part in live or recorded school lessons daily, while only 16 per cent of students from working-class homes reported doing so.

Lockdowns meant that young people could not meet their friends in person and this is why online and digital forms of interaction with peers for example through video games and social media, according to experts,  likely  helped reduce the impact of these social disruptions.

“Access to computers meant that many young people were still able to ‘attend’ school virtually, carry on with their education to an extent and keep up with friends. But anyone who didn’t have access to a computer would have been at a significant disadvantage, which would only risk increasing their sense of isolation, Tom Metherell, who at the time of the study was an undergraduate student, told the researchers..  

To examine the impact of digital exclusion on the mental health of young people, Mr Metherell and his colleagues  examined data from 1,387 10-15-year-olds collected as part of Understanding Society, a large UK-wide longitudinal survey. 

They then focused on access to computers rather than smartphones, as schoolwork is largely possible only on a computer while at this age most social interactions occur in person at school.

“Young people’s mental health tended to suffer most during the strictest periods of lockdown, when they were less likely to be able go to school or see friends. But those without access to a computer were the worst hit,” he observed while recommending  that policymakers and public health officials need to recognise the risks of ‘digital exclusion’ to young people’s mental health and prioritise ensuring equitable digital access.

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