IELTS Reading Yes/No/Not Given

Teens 'not damaged by screen time', study finds

There is little evidence of a link between the amount of time teenagers spend on devices and their general wellbeing, a study has suggested. It counters claims that teenagers' mental and physical health could be damaged by excessive screen time. Even just before bedtime, being online, gaming or watching TV is not damaging to young people's mental health, study authors said. They questioned the methodology of previous studies.

"While psychological science can be a powerful tool for understanding the link between screen use and adolescent wellbeing, it still routinely fails to supply stakeholders and the public with high-quality, transparent and objective investigations into growing concerns about digital technologies," said Professor Andrew Przybylski, Director of Research at the Oxford Internet Institute (OII) and co-author of the study.

Earlier this year, the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) reached a similar conclusion to the Oxford University study, but did suggest parents tell their children to put down their devices in the hour before they go to bed. Dr Max Davie, from RCPCH, said of the new study: "The controversy around screen use and adolescent wellbeing has always suffered from an excess of opinion relative to data, and this paper helps to correct this, "The analysis is robust and suggests an overall population effect too small to warrant consideration as a public health problem. They also question the widely held belief that screens before bedtime are especially bad for mental health. "However, none of this is intended to suggest that screen time cannot become excessive in individual cases, and we would still suggest that families follow our guidance published earlier this year. We continue, for now, to recommend that screens be avoided for one hour before bed since there are other reasons beside mental health for children to need a good night's sleep."

But others felt the study did not go far enough. Dr Bernadka Dubicka, chair of the child and adolescent faculty at the Royal College of Psychiatrists, said: "Although this is a well conducted study involving a large data set, the conclusions can only be limited. "The study looks at how long children spend looking at screens but not at what harmful content they might see. We know that screen time is not the main driver of mental illness, but dangerous online content can have an enormous impact on young people and their mental health.

"As a frontline clinician, I regularly see young people who have deliberately hurt themselves after discussing self-harm techniques on social media. Urgent research is needed to explore the complex relationship between online content and young people, with particular attention given to the most vulnerable."

Source: BBC News website (Text edited for this practice exercise.)

Do the following statements agree with the views of the writer?

1. Viewing an electronic screen before going to sleep at night is harmful.

• Yes

• No

• Not Given

Teens 'not damaged by screen time', study finds

There is little evidence of a link between the amount of time teenagers spend on devices and their general wellbeing, a study has suggested. It counters claims that teenagers' mental and physical health could be damaged by excessive screen time. Even just before bedtime, being online, gaming or watching TV is not damaging to young people's mental health, study authors said. They questioned the methodology of previous studies.

"While psychological science can be a powerful tool for understanding the link between screen use and adolescent wellbeing, it still routinely fails to supply stakeholders and the public with high-quality, transparent and objective investigations into growing concerns about digital technologies," said Professor Andrew Przybylski, Director of Research at the Oxford Internet Institute (OII) and co-author of the study.

Earlier this year, the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) reached a similar conclusion to the Oxford University study, but did suggest parents tell their children to put down their devices in the hour before they go to bed. Dr Max Davie, from RCPCH, said of the new study: "The controversy around screen use and adolescent wellbeing has always suffered from an excess of opinion relative to data, and this paper helps to correct this, "The analysis is robust and suggests an overall population effect too small to warrant consideration as a public health problem. They also question the widely held belief that screens before bedtime are especially bad for mental health. "However, none of this is intended to suggest that screen time cannot become excessive in individual cases, and we would still suggest that families follow our guidance published earlier this year. We continue, for now, to recommend that screens be avoided for one hour before bed since there are other reasons beside mental health for children to need a good night's sleep."

But others felt the study did not go far enough. Dr Bernadka Dubicka, chair of the child and adolescent faculty at the Royal College of Psychiatrists, said: "Although this is a well conducted study involving a large data set, the conclusions can only be limited. "The study looks at how long children spend looking at screens but not at what harmful content they might see. We know that screen time is not the main driver of mental illness, but dangerous online content can have an enormous impact on young people and their mental health.

"As a frontline clinician, I regularly see young people who have deliberately hurt themselves after discussing self-harm techniques on social media. Urgent research is needed to explore the complex relationship between online content and young people, with particular attention given to the most vulnerable."

Source: BBC News website (Text edited for this practice exercise.)

2. Psychological science can explain the connection between computer use and mental and physical health problems in teenagers.

• Yes

• No

• Not Given

Teens 'not damaged by screen time', study finds

There is little evidence of a link between the amount of time teenagers spend on devices and their general wellbeing, a study has suggested. It counters claims that teenagers' mental and physical health could be damaged by excessive screen time. Even just before bedtime, being online, gaming or watching TV is not damaging to young people's mental health, study authors said. They questioned the methodology of previous studies.

"While psychological science can be a powerful tool for understanding the link between screen use and adolescent wellbeing, it still routinely fails to supply stakeholders and the public with high-quality, transparent and objective investigations into growing concerns about digital technologies," said Professor Andrew Przybylski, Director of Research at the Oxford Internet Institute (OII) and co-author of the study.

Earlier this year, the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) reached a similar conclusion to the Oxford University study, but did suggest parents tell their children to put down their devices in the hour before they go to bed. Dr Max Davie, from RCPCH, said of the new study: "The controversy around screen use and adolescent wellbeing has always suffered from an excess of opinion relative to data, and this paper helps to correct this, "The analysis is robust and suggests an overall population effect too small to warrant consideration as a public health problem. They also question the widely held belief that screens before bedtime are especially bad for mental health. "However, none of this is intended to suggest that screen time cannot become excessive in individual cases, and we would still suggest that families follow our guidance published earlier this year. We continue, for now, to recommend that screens be avoided for one hour before bed since there are other reasons beside mental health for children to need a good night's sleep."

But others felt the study did not go far enough. Dr Bernadka Dubicka, chair of the child and adolescent faculty at the Royal College of Psychiatrists, said: "Although this is a well conducted study involving a large data set, the conclusions can only be limited. "The study looks at how long children spend looking at screens but not at what harmful content they might see. We know that screen time is not the main driver of mental illness, but dangerous online content can have an enormous impact on young people and their mental health.

"As a frontline clinician, I regularly see young people who have deliberately hurt themselves after discussing self-harm techniques on social media. Urgent research is needed to explore the complex relationship between online content and young people, with particular attention given to the most vulnerable."

Source: BBC News website (Text edited for this practice exercise.)

3. The RCPCH advises that kids should not view electronic devices in the 60 minutes leading up to bedtime.

• Yes

• No

• Not Given

Teens 'not damaged by screen time', study finds

There is little evidence of a link between the amount of time teenagers spend on devices and their general wellbeing, a study has suggested. It counters claims that teenagers' mental and physical health could be damaged by excessive screen time. Even just before bedtime, being online, gaming or watching TV is not damaging to young people's mental health, study authors said. They questioned the methodology of previous studies.

"While psychological science can be a powerful tool for understanding the link between screen use and adolescent wellbeing, it still routinely fails to supply stakeholders and the public with high-quality, transparent and objective investigations into growing concerns about digital technologies," said Professor Andrew Przybylski, Director of Research at the Oxford Internet Institute (OII) and co-author of the study.

Earlier this year, the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) reached a similar conclusion to the Oxford University study, but did suggest parents tell their children to put down their devices in the hour before they go to bed. Dr Max Davie, from RCPCH, said of the new study: "The controversy around screen use and adolescent wellbeing has always suffered from an excess of opinion relative to data, and this paper helps to correct this, "The analysis is robust and suggests an overall population effect too small to warrant consideration as a public health problem. They also question the widely held belief that screens before bedtime are especially bad for mental health. "However, none of this is intended to suggest that screen time cannot become excessive in individual cases, and we would still suggest that families follow our guidance published earlier this year. We continue, for now, to recommend that screens be avoided for one hour before bed since there are other reasons beside mental health for children to need a good night's sleep."

But others felt the study did not go far enough. Dr Bernadka Dubicka, chair of the child and adolescent faculty at the Royal College of Psychiatrists, said: "Although this is a well conducted study involving a large data set, the conclusions can only be limited. "The study looks at how long children spend looking at screens but not at what harmful content they might see. We know that screen time is not the main driver of mental illness, but dangerous online content can have an enormous impact on young people and their mental health.

"As a frontline clinician, I regularly see young people who have deliberately hurt themselves after discussing self-harm techniques on social media. Urgent research is needed to explore the complex relationship between online content and young people, with particular attention given to the most vulnerable."

Source: BBC News website (Text edited for this practice exercise.)

4. Watching online violence is detrimental to the mental wellbeing of adolescents according to Dr. Dubicka.

• Yes

• No

• Not Given