Screen Addiction in Adolescents

First-authored by Jasmin Desruisseau and Natalia Medina

Co-authored by Arushi Mishra and Athul Byju

It was a quiet evening when I noticed how my fourteen-year-old sister anxiously paced around the house. Her phone was locked away as a temporary measure to improve her slipping grades. This had left her restless and irritable, echoing intense withdrawal symptoms I recently read about in health class regarding addiction. Watching her senseless discomfort vividly reminded me of stories our family shared about my uncle, whose life spiraled out of control due to substance addiction and depression. It struck me profoundly how my sister, like many teenagers today, was showing signs of dependency, not even on drugs or alcohol, but on screens. I have also witnessed this screen addiction among my friends and peers. Conversations have included struggling to manage screen time, disrupted sleep schedules, diminished academic performance, and heightened anxiety. These common patterns affect the majority of screen-addicted teenagers. Researchers have concluded that digital addiction (DA), much like substance addiction, profoundly impacts the adolescent brain, especially during these crucial developmental years (Aziz et al., 2021).​​

Addiction: More Than a Behavioral Issue

Substance use is understood to be risky and dangerous, leading to many drugs needing to be heavily regulated. Drug and alcohol abuse is a serious matter which can have life-altering consequences on a person, including addiction. Historically, drug addiction was viewed as a behavioral issue, but progress in neuroscience has shifted the lens on addiction. Research in neurobiology now categorizes addiction as a disorder and chronic illness similar to diabetes, asthma, and hypertension (Borgland, 2024). While drugs are categorized depending on various effects, the underlying idea of addiction being an uncontrollable dependency reigns true across many categories of drugs. The human brain responds to digital device overuse similarly to the behavioral aftermaths of drug abuse, including a loss of willpower (Ding et al., 2023; Roberts & Garavan, 2010). Since we are so dependent on technology, it is hard to draw a line between necessity and what can ultimately become detrimental.

The Adolescent Brain and Digital Addiction

Adolescence is a critical period of brain development, marked by ongoing maturation of systems responsible for impulse control and decision-making. During this time, digital addiction, particularly Internet Gaming Disorder, has been associated with measurable changes in brain structure and function, suggesting heightened vulnerability to excessive digital engagement (Ding et al., 2023; Gardini & Veneri, 2012).The prefrontal cortex and associated reward-related regions play key roles in inhibitory control and reward processing, functions that are often disrupted in addictive behaviors. These activation patterns mirror those seen in substance addiction, characterized by reduced prefrontal control and dysregulated reward processing (Han et al., 2018). In addition to abnormal activation, adolescents with Internet Gaming Disorder show reduced gray matter volume in prefrontal regions such as the anterior cingulate and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, areas critical for cognitive control and decision-making. More broadly, adolescents with digital addiction often show reduced gray and white matter volume in interconnected regions including the prefrontal cortex, anterior cingulate cortex, and striatum, which support decision-making, motor control, and reward processing (Wang et al., 2015). Reductions in gray matter volume can impair cognitive control, learning, and emotional regulation. Cortical thinning in the prefrontal cortex has been linked to increased impulsivity and a stronger preference for short-term rewards, which may contribute to difficulties with inhibition, decision-making, and reward evaluation in adolescents with digital addiction (Hong et al., 2013b).

Many parallels can be drawn between substance addiction and digital addiction in adolescents. In functional neuroimaging studies, adolescents with internet addiction show widespread reductions in functional connectivity, particularly in cortico-striatal circuits and within the executive control network (Hong et al., 2013a; Chang & Lee, 2024). Moreover, structural imaging work shows that internet-addicted adolescents tend to have lower white matter integrity (Hu et al, 2017). Together, these findings provide stronger empirical support for the claim that digital and substance addictions may share overlapping neurobiological mechanisms. As with substance addiction, it is critical to examine behavioral changes from digital addiction linked to mental health, development, and intellectual ability. Particularly, the neurobiology of the developing adolescent brain renders this population especially vulnerable to addictive behaviors, including excessive digital device use.

Teenagers are particularly vulnerable to screen addiction. This behavioral pattern is characterized by compulsive and excessive engagement with digital devices, including smartphones, social media, and video games. While not formally recognized as a clinical diagnosis, excessive screen use shares similarities with Internet Gaming Disorder, which is classified by the World Health Organization in the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11) as a condition characterized by impaired control and continued behavior despite negative consequences (World Health Organization, 2019). During adolescence, the prefrontal cortex continues to mature, while limbic regions involved in emotion and reward develop earlier, creating a developmental imbalance that increases sensitivity to immediate rewards and risk-taking behaviors (Casey, Jones, & Hare, 2008; Steinberg, 2008).

Excessive screen time can significantly impact the adolescent brain’s reward system. Studies have demonstrated that habitual checking of social media platforms heightens sensitivity to social feedback, leading to increased activity in brain regions associated with reward processing, such as the nucleus accumbens. This heightened activity reinforces the behavior, making it more challenging for adolescents to resist the allure of digital interactions. A study in PLOS Mental Health found that internet addiction in adolescents is linked to increased resting-state activity and reduced functional connectivity between prefrontal regions and the hippocampus (Chang & Lee, 2024). These changes can foster addictive behaviors and impact mental health. Moreover, the design of many digital platforms exploits this neurological vulnerability. For adolescents, whose self-regulation skills are still developing, resisting these digital temptations can be especially challenging. Many teenagers report difficulties in limiting their screen time, feeling anxious or irritable when disconnected, and struggling with sleep disturbances due to late-night device use. These anecdotal accounts underscore a broader trend of screen dependency among adolescents, highlighting the urgent need for targeted interventions and education to foster healthier relationships with technology during this critical developmental period.

While this seems daunting, solutions and mitigation strategies are growing. Adolescents are recognizing the impact of these unhealthy addictions in other realms of their lives.

Pathways to Healthier Screen Use

While adolescents are more prone to adopting addictive behaviors and these numbers are rising at unprecedented rates, there are successful approaches to mitigating this global issue (Griffin & Botvin, 2010; Lozano-Blasco et. al, 2022). A study by the Pew Research Center in 2018 acknowledged that 54% of U.S. teens feel they overuse their phones (Jiang, 2018). This sentiment is crucial in order to curtail the negative effects excessive screen time has on adolescent brains. Strategies to counter addiction typically range from complete abstinence to harm reduction – these strategies may also be implemented in screen addiction. Although now considered an older method, abstinence preaches complete refrain from consuming any drug or addictive substance. Harm reduction, on the other hand, offers a more open-minded approach by using education to incentivize mitigation of addictive substances. By informing people of the consequences of addiction, they may slow use, and ideally, stop altogether. (National Institute on Drug Abuse, 2021). 

A similar approach to harm reduction is the peer education model. This education model prioritizes how information is taught to adolescents. Ideally, peer educators have similar demographics to the student groups, such as age, ethnicity, or interests (McKeganey, 2000; Dodd et. al, 2022). The goal of this connection is for students to feel comfortable learning, discussing and asking questions regarding the topic of interest. When adolescents are taught using this model, they are more likely to open up to conversations about healthy life practices. If applied to screen addiction, adolescents may be more open to discussing their addictive habits with each other and with peer educators in order to promote less stigma and work towards separating oneself from their screens. Peer education initiatives are spreading across the country, such as our high school’s “Peer Resource” (PR) leadership class. PR led lessons cover topics such as safe sex, substance abuse, healthy relationships and habits, and more. When students feel empowered to teach others about these sensitive topics, they are encouraged to adopt these healthy habits as well.

Similarly, students in New York have taken steps to reduce screen use. In 2024, a group of high school students in Brooklyn formed a “Luddite” club that meets regularly to spend time together without phones (Richtel, 2024). The club has expanded across multiple New York City schools and is now being filmed for a documentary. This example suggests that peer-driven initiatives may help reduce excessive screen use among adolescents.

A Call for Awareness and Change

As adolescents ourselves, this growing issue affects our everyday lives. We watch our little siblings beg for their iPads at the dinner table, we repeat our sentences three times over while our friends are scrolling, we take hours to fall asleep after the blue light of our phones shocks our eyes before bed. While we are taught in school that drug addiction and abuse is common, screen addiction grows among our generation unnoticed. With more education focusing on harm reduction strategies and acknowledgement of the danger of screens in adolescent brain development, we can slowly halt this rising reliance that affects us all. As proper education surrounding screen addiction increases, our siblings won’t have to fall back to a phone prison to keep them away from their screens, our friends won’t complain about their inability to sleep, and we can all feel a little more free. 

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UCLA Student Submission Article

First-authors: Jasmin Desruisseau and Natalia Medina

Co-authors: Arushi Mishra and Athul Byju

Illustrated by Yang-Sun Hwang

Edited by Jade Fachin, Kaitlyn Huizar, Dhruv Mehrotra, and Vidya Saravanapandian

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