Screen addiction can be defined to be the obsessive compulsion to stay near a screen at most times. Not being able to discontinue watching a screen, despite wanting to, is the primary symptom of this addiction. Sometimes it’s normal to have a combined screen time of 5 to 7 hours daily. However, even 2 hours of continuous screen time can be symptoms of addiction when it’s in the form of aimless scrolling. Smartphone addiction to be precise is the main contributor to screen addiction in youth.
Root of the problem
Access to inexpensive internet and free content has intensified screen time to the extent of addiction. Today social media is the platforms where people spend most of their leisure time. The business models of such platforms are designed to earn profit from the time people spend there. As a result, they intentionally make it addictive and hard to move away from their platforms. Video games are no different; they have an extremely developed user interface that ensures an experience that one wouldn’t want to stay away for long.
What does the problem entail?
Screen addiction can not only lead to the loss of one’s most precious resource, which is time, but its consequences are much more complicated and diverse. This addiction can have negative effects on one’s health, behaviour and personal and professional life.
Predominantly due to technological addiction, the youth is finding it increasingly difficult to make friends in real life. Isolation from the real world results in making them introverted and self-centred. They feel disconnected from their parents as they are always on their screens.
What are the behavioural impacts of screen addiction, especially on children?
Dr Harshil Shah, Psychiatrist, B.J. Medical College and Civil Hospital, Ahmedabad, Gujarat says, “Excessive screen or smartphone usage causes a range of behavioural problems. Temper tantrums such as a period of slightest abstinence when the phone is taken away, they would exhibit outbursts in the form of irritability or excessive crying indicating a severe urge to get the phone again. Excessive social media usage may lead to a sense of comparison of their looks, and body shape with others, leading to eating disorders and body image problems. A facade of high followers, likes and near-perfect life portrayed on social media may lead a child to get insecure about their own boring life, making them vulnerable to depression and anxiety.”
Behavioural and health implications
Staying excessively stuck to a screen can have several consequences on an individual, a few of which are cited below:
- Excessive stress on the eyes leads to damage of the eye and recurring headaches
- Disturbed sleep schedule
- Inappropriate posture
- Reduced concentration span
- Anger issues
- Lack of energy and enthusiasm
Each of these can have detrimental outcomes in the long run. People become less interested in real-life activities. They cannot enjoy and derive happiness from moments as much as they normally should have. Excessive screen time also reduces creativity as the mind always stays engaged. No space is left for innovative thoughts to be nurtured.
“Screen addiction can raise the risk of anxiety, depression, and attention problems among children. Excessive screen time can also lead to decreased physical activity, social skills, and academic performance,” Dr Madhu Vamsi, MBBS, MD (Psychiatry), Consultant Psychiatrist, Hyderabad, Telangana. Thus, it not only takes toll on your health, but also pose a chances for diseases in future.
Ways to recover
One first needs to acknowledge that they have been addicted to screens to come out of it. To reduce mindless scrolling for a prolonged time and wasting time aimlessly one might use tools like app timers. They can also monitor their screen time and try to reduce it gradually.
Activities like reading, taking notes and keeping records can be shifted into pen-and-paper mode. This will reduce the time they spend on screen for these activities. It also reduces the risk of unintentionally landing up into default applications of one’s time waste. Phone addiction needs to be countered from the beginning as like any addiction it grows in intensity with time.
Taking back things on hand
Outdoor activities like walking or playing some outdoor game can have several benefits like:
- Increasing one’s physical fitness
- Making them healthier both physically and mentally
- Help them to socialise and make real-life bonding
- Help them to recover from screen addiction
Taking up initiatives and challenges in real life helps one be more involved in the physical world. It reduces their need to seek recognition through digital platforms. Partaking in healthy competition in academic and professional life ensures growth in a person besides countering the issue of screen time addiction.
Overall, computers, television, smartphones and other devices are great inventions that have no doubt helped in the progress of humankind. Even so, excessive dependence on them poses threats from multiple dimensions. Screen addiction is generally neglected, and most people are bound to regret this phase at a later stage in life. We must be able to maintain a balance between digital and real life and be able to recognise when the balance is being disturbed. Technology has been made to make human lives easier. Where even minute problems originate from the digital world a boundary should be drawn between it and the real world.
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