The Digester

A Netherlands study of 111 emerging adults found that ADHD symptoms predict problematic social media use and gaming, but common cognitive deficits linked to ADHD do not explain that relationship, and the data cannot show cause and effect.

Higher ADHD symptom levels were associated with more problematic social media use and problematic gaming.
In the sample of emerging adults (n=111, mean age 21, 84% women), 41% had elevated ADHD symptoms, 27% had problematic social media use, and 9% had problematic gaming.
Self-report measures of inhibitory control, reward sensitivity, and temporal processing correlated with ADHD symptoms, but computerized behavioral tasks did not show those associations.
Mediation analyses found that the three assessed cognitive deficits did not explain the association between ADHD symptoms and problematic digital media use.
Exploratory analyses suggested inhibitory control and temporal processing might mediate the link between hyperactivity/impulsivity and problematic social media use specifically.
The study used a cross-sectional design, so it cannot determine causation.

ADHD links to problematic social media and gaming not explained by core cognitive deficits

Sources