Problem Technology Use and Psychological Distress Among Adolescents in Ontario, Canada

With the increase in technology use by youth in recent decades, there is a need to examine how the overuse of technology influences youth mental health and wellbeing. The purpose of this study was to examine the association between problem technology use and psychological distress in a representative sample of adolescents residing in Ontario, Canada. Self-reported data were obtained from a cross-sectional sample of 4846 students in grades 9 to 12 (mean age, 15.9 ± 1.3 years) who participated in the 2019 Ontario Student Drug Use and Health Survey. Problem technology use was measured using the 6-item Short Problem Internet Use Test, and psychological distress was assessed using the Kessler 6-item Psychological Distress Scale. Logistic regression models were adjusted for age, ethnoracial background, subjective socioeconomic status, tobacco cigarette smoking, alcohol consumption, and cannabis use. We found that 35.8% of students used technology for more than 5 hours per day, and 18.7% of students were identified as having symptoms in line with moderate-to-serious problem technology use, although symptoms were more common in females than males (22.5% vs. 14.9%, respectively). Moderate-to-serious problem technology use was associated with serious psychological distress among both males (OR = 4.57, 95% CI = 3.27–6.38) and females (OR = 2.89, 95% CI = 2.23–3.75) in adjusted models. Findings from this study show that problem technology use is strongly associated with psychological distress in adolescents, with stronger associations in males than females. Appropriate intervention strategies are needed to mitigate the adverse effects of technology use among secondary school students.