Depression, anxiety and self-harm: the extreme consequences of teenage screen addiction

Today’s adolescents may seem born to look at screens, but being a digital native has its pros and cons. Scientific organizations have been warning us for some time about the risk to neuronal development that prolonged use of devices can have on young people. And now, they’re now sounding the alarm over its direct relationship with anxiety, depression and in the most extreme cases, suicidal tendencies.

Such was the conclusion of a study carried out by the World Health Organization, Health Behavior in School-aged Children, which analyzed the effects of screens during adolescence. The study, which was published in June, concluded that 11% of minors see their lives as being substantially altered by phones, computers and game consoles, and that 32% are at risk of crossing the line into problematic use, meaning negative interference with their daily lives or affecting their relationships, studies or emotional wellbeing.

The Control Z platform, led by Mar España (the former director of the Spanish Agency for Data Protection) presented on July 9 a project in which 16 organizations involved with responsible and moderate use of technology and the internet participated. The initiative’s primary goal is to stop digital hyper-connection, and to do so, has enlisted the help of neurologists, psychologists and psychiatrists like Abigail Huertas, a childhood and adolescence psychiatrist who works at Madrid’s Hospital Gregorio Marañón. “We are living in unprecedented times because on one hand, adolescents have advanced tremendously in their ability to identify and express their emotional malaise without shame or stigma, something that was unthinkable a decade ago. But on the other hand, we have an adult society — including many families — that is overwhelmed and unable to offer sufficient emotional support,” says Huertas.

Mental illnesses, says the doctor, are beginning at younger ages and more intensely, and although we still don’t have definitive scientific evidence, “we know that the content we consume — and the algorithms that present it to us — directly affects our mood, the perception we have of ourselves, our consumption habits and our identity.”

“It’s very hard not to get trapped, especially if no one explains attention hijacking to you, and the most worrisome part is that the majority of the population is not aware of this,” continues the psychiatrist. For Huertas, a key aspect that often overlooked is when children are allowed to start using screens: “The earlier it begins, the higher the risk that mental and emotional development will be compromised.” According to the expert, this can be accompanied by depression, anxiety and even the chance that the children will begin to self-harm.

Eating disorders and self-inflicted injury, anxiety and depression are a few of the risks associated with screen addiction, above all in young women. It can also lead to a lowered perception of the risk of overexposure of one’s own body, insufficient self-esteem and isolation. Such was the conclusion of a 2024 investigation entitled Exploratory study on the health effects of overexposure to social media and screens from a gender perspective, carried out by Spain’s Addiction Care Network and the Spanish Federation of Rehabilitated Gamblers between March and November of 2023.

Lucía Torres, an adolescent psychology expert, says that self-harm can result from an unmet emotional need, “something external, beyond a person’s control, causes damage and sets off intense emotions like sadness, frustration and disappointment that the adolescent is unable to manage. In such cases, self-harm can appear as a relief mechanism,” she says. The act brings with it a perceived sense of control. “The damage is no longer coming from outside, but rather is produced by one’s own self, transforming the person from passive to active,” says Torres. In addition, she continues, “the physical pain that is generated is more tolerable than the emotional suffering, which can lead to a sense of strength.”

The impact of self-harm is not limited to the adolescent themselves — it can also profoundly affect those close to them, according to Torres. “Family members and friends begin to become aware of the person’s internal issues, which can lead to feeling guilty (for not having known how to recognize or fulfill their needs), sadness or fear that the behavior will return. In many cases,” she continues, “their immediate reaction may be to focus their attention on the teen, who could then interpret that through self-harm, they can get precisely what they needed: attention, validation and care.” According to Torres, what is most troubling is that many young people describe self-harm as a drug, due to the feeling of power they feel by escaping their emotional impotence. “This behavior is accompanied by a rush of neurotransmitters that reinforces its repetition.”

Endorphins, or endogenous opioids, are released through self-harm and generate relief and pleasure, reducing emotional pain, explains psychologist Luis Miguel Real. “Dopamine also activates the brain’s reward system, which leads to repetition of the behavior,” says the expert. “Ultimately, addictions are comorbid with almost all psychological problems, automatically increasing the likelihood that someone will develop addictive behaviors to cope with discomfort,” Real continues. He adds, “Teenagers, in general, are a very vulnerable population, and addiction to screens serves as a form of self-medication.” That means that they may avoid other strategies to deal with their dependence, like talking to their parents, going to a psychologist, getting more exercise, or other measures. “That makes their recovery very difficult,” he says.