Is Screen Time Making You Dumb and Unhealthy?
The use of digital technology may influence the human brain and behaviour both positively and negatively. The global use of technology is excessive and goes unquestioned, polluting our senses on a daily basis. Many people are unaware of the potential drawbacks this may have.
“We did not evolve to be staring at a screen for most of our waking hours. We evolved to be interacting with each other face-to-face, using our senses of smell and touch and taste - not just sight.”
This is a bold statement: There is clear and strong evidence from brain imaging techniques of morphological alterations in early childhood and during adolescence that are associated with intensive digital media use.
IS MODERN TECHNOLOGY HACKING YOUR MIND AND BODY?
Is the use of technology in the developing brain akin to child abuse? What is the short and long-term impact on physiology and psychology? Any environmental change and exposure will lead to epigenetic alteration. What does that mean for future generations? Excessive screen time is linked to mental health problems and the deterioration of wellbeing. It has a bidirectional influence on other behavioural decisions that include food choices, environmental preference, social groups, exercise and movement, education and jobs and drug use, so it is difficult to isolate from any modern dis-ease.
Over 4.57 billion people, 59% of the world population, use the Internet based on recent estimates (2019). A UK report “Decade of the smartphone”, suggested the average person spends 24 hours a week online, equating to 3-4 hours a day, with 20% of all adults spending as many as double that per day. In the 16-24 year age group, 4-5 hours per day online, checking smartphones every 12 minutes on average. This is only going to have become more serious since the global pandemic.
ARE YOU ADDICTED TO YOUR MOBILE PHONE?
The act of simply touching your screen - which Americans do 2176 times per day - influences cortisol signaling and tactile sensation on the fingertips, correspondingly altering the motor and somatosensory cortex of the brain.
Who else played Pokémon on a Gameboy? Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) studies indicate that this influences the organisation of the visual cortex which persists even decades later. In adolescent brains, areas associated with emotion and socialisation also appear altered. Have you noticed more angry, moody teenagers compared to 10 years ago? Could this be why?
An increasingly extensive social media use in pre-school age groups is associated with significant changes in the white matter tracts that support language and literacy. This is particularly concerning given the sensitivity and plasticity of growing brains - with myelination and full maturity only being complete in the mid-20s.
Individuals with internet gaming disorders have neurobiological abnormalities that are shared with other forms of addiction. These include changes to gray matter volume, white matter density, cortical thickness and neural connectivity, specifically in regions related to reward, decision making and other neurotransmitter systems.
Potentially harmful effects of excessive modern technology use:
Attention deficits and a possible link to the diagnosis of ADHD (Ra et al., 2018)
Paradoxical association with social anxiety and isolation.
Impaired emotional and social intelligence.
Altered cognitive and language development.Disruptions to sleep.
The combined use of various devices at one time (the multitasking effect) is rarely taken into consideration, however, there is evidence that this is problematic and can impair cognitive performance (Bohle et al., 2019). A 24-month follow-up study correlated media time with more symptoms of ADHD (Ra et al., 2018). The American Academy of Paediatricians recommends limiting screen time for children age 2 years or younger. What about other age groups? It is important to allow the brain to rest and reset.
It is ironic that social media usage is linked to social isolation - reducing the number of face-to-face encounters, social connections, and quality relationships. This is associated with poor health outcomes and increased mortality, so not to be taken lightly (Firth et al., 2019).
“1787 young adults (ages 19 to 32 years) and found that using social media 2 or more hours each day doubled the odds for perceived social isolation compared with use less than 30 minutes each day” - Primack et al., 2017.
Young children are most susceptible to electromagnetic radiation "It appears to be even higher in children owing to thinner scalps and skulls, increased water content of their brain, and lower brain volume."
On top of their unique brain development stage with myelination. Myelin, the protective fatty sheath around neurons, is thin in the young brain and develops through the mid-twenties (Redmayne and Johansson, 2014). Lower myelin levels and consequent higher water levels are responsible for more excellent absorption of RF energy in young brains. Myelin also provides some protection for neurons from RF and other potential neurotoxins. Neurotoxins give rise to neurodegeneration with permeable blood-brain barrier and the insult of hyperactivity, energy substrate issues such as insulin, and leptin resistance from blood glucose impairment. Alterations with neurotransmission alter behavior and sleep / circadian rhyme cycles. Essentially, setting us up for modern diseases.
Any coincidence?
“The results indicate that using a cell phone for ≥10 years approximately doubles the risk of being diagnosed with a brain tumor on the same (“ipsilateral”) side of the head as that preferred for cell phone use.”
Concluding that excessive use of mobile phones, such as ten years of use, is associated with an increased brain tumor risk. (Khurana et al., 2009)
When diving into the data, there are largely inconsistent findings as there is no one size fits all with the biological effects on nonnative electromagnetic frequency exposure. “laboratories in at least
Seven countries, including the United States, showing that cell phone or similar low-intensity EMF can (contrary to expectations of non-ionizing sources) break DNA or modulate it structurally”. (Khurana et al., 2009)
Children (right) are more sensitive and absorb more radiation than adults (left). (Fernández et al., 2018)
Indeed, exposures that take place during fetal development or early childhood may cause permanent brain injury, whereas the same doses may have little or no impact in adults (Heindel et al., 2015)
Limiting screen time is necessary if you want your child to sleep like a baby. Does this affect sexual development and puberty? Menstrual problems? PCOS? I think there is a significant correlation. Screen touching by infants and toddlers has a negative impact on sleep onset, duration, and awakenings (Cheung et al., 2017).
Not to forget the elephant in the room of artificial light exposure. These LED-based devices alter and override 300,000 years of human evolution grounded in a robust circadian rhythm driven by the sun, moon, and other electromagnetic frequencies in the solar system and the Earth. Artificial light at night is linked with poor sleep quality and associated with brain changes, including reduced grey matter volume and functional connectivity, driving a global pandemic of cognitive decline and dementia (Branger et al., 2016, Amorim et al., 2018).
Credit to the American Academy of Pediatrics. The Academy recommended in 2016 that younger children should not use cell phones and that prudent measures should be taken to eliminate exposure (e.g., using devices for amusement or education only when all wireless features are turned off – in “airplane mode”) or to minimize exposure (e.g., texting or using speakerphone), and that cell phones should not be kept next to the body. The use of wires/cables in schools and homes circumvents needless exposures of children to radiation from both devices and Wi-Fi routers. Unfortunately, this recommendation is absent from my experience and perspective in the real world. (Fernández et al., 2018)
There are, of course, benefits associated with modern technology. According to meta-analysis, healthcare services such as digital psychotherapy interventions are equivalent to face-to-face sessions. Other brain training programs can immediately improve memory and language. These computer-orientated training systems can enhance well-being and empowerment in the older adult population so as not to feel left behind with the growing technology boom.
The response of the individual to technology is context and person-specific, similar to any other electromagnetic frequency. There is no one size fits all. It is difficult in a world of both primary from our own behaviours and secondary exposure from others.
We need to be educated when it comes to modern technology, so we can be empowered to make the right choices for us. To use it to our advantage and not abuse it simply because it is available. “Digital technology is not intrinsically good or bad: it depends on the uses it is being put to by the user, and it can be utilized by individuals in both negative and positive ways.” (Hoehe and Thibaut, 2020).
“Technology simply does not “happen” to people. Individuals can shape the experiences they have with technologies and the results of those experiences. Thus, it is important to shift the focus towards an active, conscious use of this technology, with the intention to improve our lives and meaningfully connect with each other.”
CONCLUSION
Modern technology is here to stay, no doubt. There is a dependency now and advances to come in the future that will weave it even more into our lives. We must remember that there is a biological cost, considering our 3.8 billion-year evolutionary journey alongside mother nature. There needs to be more awareness, regulation and at the very least studies to assess the safety that is not conflicted by political or economic interest. This research needs to be nuanced, and consider the personalised nature of the biological response to electromagnetic radiation, taking into account age, geographical location, and many other factors.
I hope this article leaves you in thought, builds some awareness, and perhaps prompts you to find and implement strategies that protect your health. After all, that is the most expensive thing on this planet as it relates to time.
To look at preventive strategies check the Twitter thread linked below. (click on the image to go directly to the thread)
Additionally, our store page which includes discount codes, features artificial blue light blocking glasses, non native EMF readers, EMF laptop pads, apparel and hats and blankets. These are simple wins you can add to your daily life.
REFERENCES:
Amorim, L., Magalhães, R., Coelho, A., Moreira, P., Portugal-Nunes, C., Castanho, T., Marques, P., Sousa, N. and Santos, N., 2018. Poor Sleep Quality Associates With Decreased Functional and Structural Brain Connectivity in Normative Aging: A MRI Multimodal Approach. Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience, 10.
Bohle, H., Rimpel, J., Schauenburg, G., Gebel, A., Stelzel, C., Heinzel, S., Rapp, M. and Granacher, U., 2019. Behavioral and Neural Correlates of Cognitive-Motor Interference during Multitasking in Young and Old Adults. Neural Plasticity, 2019, pp.1-19.
Branger, P., Arenaza-Urquijo, E., Tomadesso, C., Mézenge, F., André, C., de Flores, R., Mutlu, J., de La Sayette, V., Eustache, F., Chételat, G. and Rauchs, G., 2016. Relationships between sleep quality and brain volume, metabolism, and amyloid deposition in late adulthood. Neurobiology of Aging, 41, pp.107-114.
Cheung, C., Bedford, R., Saez De Urabain, I., Karmiloff-Smith, A. and Smith, T., 2017. Daily touchscreen use in infants and toddlers is associated with reduced sleep and delayed sleep onset. Scientific Reports, 7(1).
Fernández, C., de Salles, A., Sears, M., Morris, R. and Davis, D., 2018. Absorption of wireless radiation in the child versus adult brain and eye from cell phone conversation or virtual reality. Environmental Research, 167, pp.694-699.
Firth, J., Torous, J., Stubbs, B., Firth, J., Steiner, G., Smith, L., Alvarez‐Jimenez, M., Gleeson, J., Vancampfort, D., Armitage, C. and Sarris, J., 2019. The “online brain”: how the Internet may be changing our cognition. World Psychiatry, 18(2), pp.119-129.
Hoehe, M. and Thibaut, F., 2020. Going digital: how technology use may influence human brains and behavior. Dialogues in Clinical Neuroscience, 22(2), pp.93-97.
Horowitz-Kraus, T. and Hutton, J., 2017. Brain connectivity in children is increased by the time they spend reading books and decreased by the length of exposure to screen-based media. Acta Paediatrica, 107(4), pp.685-693.
Huhn, S., Kharabian Masouleh, S., Stumvoll, M., Villringer, A. and Witte, A., 2015. Components of a Mediterranean diet and their impact on cognitive functions in aging. Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience, 7.
Khurana, V., Teo, C., Kundi, M., Hardell, L. and Carlberg, M., 2009. Cell phones and brain tumors: a review including the long-term epidemiologic data. Surgical Neurology, 72(3), pp.205-214.
Morgan, L., Miller, A., Sasco, A. and Davis, D., 2015. Mobile phone radiation causes brain tumors and should be classified as a probable human carcinogen (2A) (Review). International Journal of Oncology, 46(5), pp.1865-1871.
Pew Research Center: Internet, Science & Tech. 2022. Teens, Social Media and Technology 2018. [online] Available at: <http://www.pewinternet.org/2018/05/31/teens-social-media-technology-2018> [Accessed 17 August 2022].