Researchers say lack of sleep could be a factor among young people interacting online for more than three hours a day
Children who are on social media for more than three hours a day are more likely to develop depression and anxiety as teenagers, according to research.
Experts said the impact was likely to be linked to a lack of sleep caused by using social media late at night, and that the link to depression was more pronounced in girls.
Researchers at Imperial College London analysed data from a study of cognition, adolescents and mobile phones, set up in 2014, based on responses from 2,350 children at 31 schools across London.
The schoolchildren twice took cognitive tests and completed a questionnaire on digital behaviours, mental health and lifestyles: first when they were between 11 and 12, and again when they were between 13 and 15.
