IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/ten/wpaper/2025-05.html

Connected and Distracted: The Impact of High-Speed Internet on ADHD Outcomes in the U.S

Author

Listed:
  • Lucas Gurgel

    (Department of Economics, University of Tennessee.)

Abstract

I analyze the impact of high-speed internet connectivity on ADHD outcomes in the United States using county-level data from 2008 to 2023. Exploiting variation in the timing of broadband adoption, I employ two-way fixed effects models to estimate the effect of high-speed internet penetration on the demand for ADHD treatment drugs. I estimate that when counties surpassed 40\% high-speed internet connectivity, total demand for ADHD medications increased by 1.14 percent, with amphetamine-based medications showing the highest increase at 2.45 percent. These effects are more pronounced in smaller counties. I also find some evidence of increased special education enrollment, though these effects are less consistent across specifications. Using the American Time Use Survey to investigate possible mechanisms, I find suggestive evidence that youth, particularly boys, spend more time with computers as their areas gain high-speed connectivity, although small sample sizes yield imprecise estimates. These results suggest that the expansion of digital infrastructure may have contributed to the rise of ADHD diagnoses, with implications for public health policy regarding the broader health effects of increased high-speed internet connectivity.

Suggested Citation

  • Lucas Gurgel, 2025. "Connected and Distracted: The Impact of High-Speed Internet on ADHD Outcomes in the U.S," Working Papers 2025-05, University of Tennessee, Department of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:ten:wpaper:2025-05
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://web.utk.edu/~jhollad3/RePEc/2025-05.pdf
    File Function: First version, 2025
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Lisa J. Dettling & Sarena Goodman & Jonathan Smith, 2018. "Every Little Bit Counts: The Impact of High-Speed Internet on the Transition to College," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 100(2), pages 260-273, May.
    2. Goodman-Bacon, Andrew, 2021. "Difference-in-differences with variation in treatment timing," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 225(2), pages 254-277.
    3. Mark Aguiar & Mark Bils & Kerwin Kofi Charles & Erik Hurst, 2021. "Leisure Luxuries and the Labor Supply of Young Men," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 129(2), pages 337-382.
    4. Grimes, Arthur & Townsend, Wilbur, 2018. "Effects of (ultra-fast) fibre broadband on student achievement," Information Economics and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 8-15.
    5. George W. Zuo, 2021. "Wired and Hired: Employment Effects of Subsidized Broadband Internet for Low-Income Americans," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 13(3), pages 447-482, August.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Campbell, Richard Cole, 2024. "Need for speed: Fiber and student achievement," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 48(6).
    2. Cambini, Carlo & Sabatino, Lorien & Zaccagni, Sarah, 2024. "The faster the better? Advanced internet access and student performance," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 48(8).
    3. Landgraf, Steven W., 2023. "Measuring incumbent ISP response to municipal broadband opt-out referenda in Colorado," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 47(10).
    4. Sanchis-Guarner, Rosa & Montalbán, José & Weinhardt, Felix, 2025. "Home broadband and human capital formation," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 108(C).
    5. Joop Age Harm Adema & Cevat Giray Aksoy & Panu Poutvaara, 2021. "Mobile Internet Access and the Desire to Emigrate," ifo Working Paper Series 365, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich.
    6. Yanguas, Maria Lucia, 2020. "Technology and educational choices: Evidence from a one-laptop-per-child program," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).
    7. Caldarulo, Mattia & Mossberger, Karen & Howell, Anthony, 2023. "Community-wide broadband adoption and student academic achievement," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 47(1).
    8. Van Parys, Jessica & Brown, Zach Y., 2024. "Broadband Internet access and health outcomes: Patient and provider responses in Medicare," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 95(C).
    9. Marina Dodlova & Krisztina Kis-Katos & Anna Kochanova & Olivia Wirth, 2023. "Mobile technologies and firm formalization: Evidence from Uganda," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2023-99, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    10. Niu, Geng & Jin, XiaoShu & Wang, Qi & Zhou, Yang, 2022. "Broadband infrastructure and digital financial inclusion in rural China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).
    11. Callen, Ian & Stoddard, Christiana, 2024. "Putting the “A” in AP: The effect of advanced placement state policies on student participation and performance," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 102(C).
    12. Carlo Cambini & Lorien Sabatino & Sarah Zaccagni, 2021. "The Faster the Better? The Effect of Ultra-Fast Broadband on Students’ Performance," CEBI working paper series 21-14, University of Copenhagen. Department of Economics. The Center for Economic Behavior and Inequality (CEBI).
    13. Sabatini, Fabio, 2023. "The Behavioral, Economic, and Political Impact of the Internet and Social Media: Empirical Challenges and Approaches," IZA Discussion Papers 16703, IZA Network @ LISER.
    14. Bas Scheer & Wiljan van den Berge & Maarten Goos & Alan Manning & Anna Salomons, 2022. "Alternative Work Arrangements and Worker Outcomes: Evidence from Payrolling," CPB Discussion Paper 435, CPB Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis.
    15. Wright, Austin L. & Sonin, Konstantin & Driscoll, Jesse & Wilson, Jarnickae, 2020. "Poverty and economic dislocation reduce compliance with COVID-19 shelter-in-place protocols," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 180(C), pages 544-554.
    16. Ichev, Riste & Valentinčič, Aljoša, 2025. "The effect of impact investing on performance of private firms," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 73(PA).
    17. Mac Clay, Pablo & Börner, Jan & Sellare, Jorge, 2023. "Institutional and macroeconomic stability mediate the effect of auctions on renewable energy capacity," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 180(C).
    18. Katrin Huber & Geske Rolvering, 2023. "Public child care and mothers’ career trajectories," Working Papers 228, Bavarian Graduate Program in Economics (BGPE).
    19. Shun-Yang Lee & Julian Runge & Daniel Yoo & Yakov Bart & Anett Gyurak & J. W. Schneider, 2023. "COVID-19 Demand Shocks Revisited: Did Advertising Technology Help Mitigate Adverse Consequences for Small and Midsize Businesses?," Papers 2307.09035, arXiv.org, revised Jan 2024.
    20. Wei, Qingfang & Liu, Yuan & Cai, Weixing & Wan, Jiangtao, 2025. "Open government data and personal default: Evidence from China," Journal of Asian Economics, Elsevier, vol. 100(C).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    JEL classification:

    • I10 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - General
    • I12 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health Behavior
    • I18 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Government Policy; Regulation; Public Health
    • I20 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - General

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:ten:wpaper:2025-05. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Scott Holladay (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/ecutkus.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.