In our modern day, there are various types of beneficial screens that serve as tools for work, education, communication, journaling, and entertainment. Screens afford many wonderful opportunities to connect and help speed up work in countless areas for a high percentage of the population. In society, cell phones, computers, kindles, TV’s, tablets, and other electronic gadgets gobble up a lot of time. Does the average person understand and recognize the dangers of screen time in their own lives and their children’s lives? Doubtful, and they must curb this addictive appetite and strike a better balance before screen time destroys them.  An in-depth review of current data on the effects of screen time will illustrate the crisis stage they are at and why action is needed immediately.

There is considerable data to support the need for greatly reduced screen time.  One occupational therapist, Victoria Prooday, recently wrote a blog post titled, “The silent tragedy affecting today’s children” (Prooday). In it, she identified in detail some scary statistics. One area is the sharp increase of suicide for children ages 10 -14, now up to a distressing 200 %!  Prooday attributed this in part to the fact that parents are distracted digitally, meanwhile children experience endless stimulation and technology is now the babysitter. This results in a sad toll on children.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         Even though screens offer connections across vast distances and enable folks in many areas, there is a real and present danger that goes unnoticed. Doctors are reporting frequently the damages from screen time that they observe in their patient’s bodies, especially in regards to their eyes. Symptoms range from headaches, dryness, blurry vision, neck and shoulder pain and even damage to our retinas. Doctors have labeled this Computer Vision Syndrome, to cover all the problems resulting from excessive use of screens (Seidman). Constant exposure from the screen’s blue light causes the sleep hormone melatonin to be suppressed. This is a contributing factor to the lack of good sleep. Lest the public think this is a small percentage who will experience difficulties from excessive screen time, please be aware that Nielsen Consumer Research reports that an average American adult spends 11 hours a day on various screens (Brown). Keep in mind that most humans are only awake 16 to 18 hours a day and it becomes clear that humanity is out of balance!

Doctors are also sounding the alarm by outlining several studies that prove human brains are shrinking in gray matter, particularly with Internet and gaming addictions (Dunckley). Dr. Dunckley goes on to talk about how the atrophying gray matter is occurring in the brain where processing happens.  To better comprehend just how valuable and vital this gray matter is they need to understand its function.  Gray matter in the frontal lobe area of the brain enables humans to plan, organize, and control impulses. In addition to that frontal lobe damage, another area is being affected too.  It is an interesting area known as the insula (fifth lobe of the brain), also known as the information superhighway of the brain. Its function enables us to develop empathy, compassion and to show emotion. With the insula being impaired, an obvious link to violent behavior has been noted along with a significant reduction in depth and quality of personal relationships. Visibly, this is what is witnessed in our world today. More violence and an alarming increase in failing personal relationships. The brain is being rewired in a very detrimental way! Screen abuse shows up in another area of the body as reduced cortical thickness (the outermost part of your brain). This reduction was found in online gaming addicts, both male, and female, and it impairs cognitive functions such as memory, motor skills, language, and attention perception. Video games increase the release of dopamine and help accelerate the addiction process. That in succession creates brain changes which produce similar cravings found in drug addicts. Bear in mind that frontal lobe and remember that it undergoes substantial changes from puberty until the mid-twenties when it matures. Basically, this frontal lobe development or lack of makes or breaks your life plans. Both in your ability to forge ahead with a career and correspondingly in your capacity to develop lasting personal relationships.

We would be wise to follow in Steve Jobs (the iconic co-founder of Apple Computers) footsteps. Jobs “firmly believed in restricting his children on electronic devices.” (Butters). Absolutely, Jobs was ahead of his time in more than inventing, he discernibly understood and protected his offspring by limiting and seeking balance for their lives. We would be prudent as parents to follow suit and begin to spend far more than the “34 minutes a day” with our children that a United Kingdom news report stated was the average (Maughan).

A Canadian study outlined unmistakably how kids with an increase in screen time yielded a decline in mental and physical health (Rowan). The question was raised of have we become a society of parents, educators and health professionals who no longer promote child wellness?  The Canadian study coined a term called “Tech Neglect” and reminded us that due to our attachment to screens, our children and youth are struggling to simply survive, sadness has permeated childhood to a deadly point. We are now at epidemic levels with kids! Studies have shown 1 in 5 experience some type of mental health illness, ADHD has jumped a staggering 43 %, and teen depression has risen to 37 % (Prooday).  The common contributing factor is our inordinate amount of screen time by everyone in society.

Every study indicates overwhelming data confirming that we have reached debilitating levels of screen time and it is affecting all of us. Noticeably all the data from various studies demonstrate that our appetite for screens in all areas of our lives is not benefitting us! If we value our children and their futures, we will immediately establish controls and set boundaries on screen usage. We would be wise to mirror those boundaries in our own lives as well. Respecting our own self-preservation demands that we take action or continue to suffer the loss of gray matter, crucial brain function, painful eye and sight problems, and our basic quality of life. Certainly, no screen is worth that that toll on our minds and bodies. We must remember too that our children are following in our footsteps, so awareness of where we are leading them is critical. Unquestionably, no screen is worth these costs. For the sake of all humanity, we must make a change in our habitual screen usage before it is too late!

 

Works Cited

Prooday, Victoria. “The silent tragedy affecting today’s children.” 24 May 2017 https://yourot.com/parenting-club/2017/5/24/what-are-we-doing-to-our-children

Seidman, Bianca. “What too much screen time does to your eyes.” 13 August 2015 http://www.cbsnews.com/news/screen-time-digital-eye-strain/

Brown, Molly. “Nielsen reports that the average American adult spends 11 hours per day on gadgets.” 13 March 2015 https://www.geekwire.com/2015/nielsen-reports-that-the-average-american-adult-spends- 11-hours-per-day-on-gadgets/

Dunckley, Victoria, L. “Gray Matters: Too Much Screen Time Damages the Brain” 27 February 2014 https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/mental-wealth/201402/gray-matters-too-much- screen-time-damages-the-brain

Butters, Tim. “Steve Jobs didn’t let his kids use iPhones or ipads: here’s why” 11 September 2014 http://www.inquisitr.com/1468612/steve-jobs-didnt-let-his-kids-use-iphones-or-ipads- heres-why/

Maughan, Rick. “Parents’ spend just 34 minutes a day with their children’- because stressful life is too distracting. http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/parents-spend-just-34-minutes-5518081

Rowan, Chris. “Suicide by Screens – the impact of Tech Neglect on child and youth.” 27 March 2016 http://movingtolearn.ca/2016/suicide-by-screens-the-impact-of-tech-neglect-on-child- and- youth