TIME FOR A SCREEN BREAK

FEELING THE NEGATIVE EFFECTS OF SPENDING TOO MUCH TIME ONLINE? SARA KEENAN FINDS OUT WHAT TO DO ABOUT IT

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TECH plays a significant role in modern life and while it offers numerous benefits, many of us are spending increasing amounts of time on our digital devices.

Screen time has been on the rise over current years, yet too much time spent scrolling online can have a negative effect - from affecting social skills and disrupting sleep to developing ‘tech neck.

Data from consumer research platform GWI reveals that the average screen time in the UK is five hours and 34 minutes daily, and more than a quarter of Brits (27%) worry that they spend too much time on their smartphones.

Although not recognised through the NHS yet, Dr Catherine Carney, a psychiatrist and addiction expert from Delamere rehab clinic, says that tech addiction has become a more common issue over the years.

“There's a new term called digital sugar and it's when somebody is increasingly using technology and we see similar physiological phenomena that we see with substance addiction. It’s giving people the same dopamine drive through social media,” she says.

But what are the effects of high screen time and dependence on social media?

COGNITIVE ISSUES

“If you're sitting on your phone instead of being outside, in the gym, meeting with a friend, it can reduce access to socialisation and actually cause cognitive problems,” says Dr Carney.

Research funded by the National Institutes of Health found that children who use screens for seven hours or more a day are showing signs that their brain cortex is thinning prematurely.

“It's also been found that kids who spend a lot of time on their phones and then go into school find reading and writing harder than those kids who aren't on the phones as much,” Dr Carney adds.

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