I wanted this to be an easy question. About the relationship between looking at a screen and strain on the eyes. Of course, it’s not that simple. As always, enough is a hard thing to gauge.
In 1896, at one of the very earliest screenings of a motion picture, the French Lumière brothers showed the 50-second long “L’arrivée d’un train en gare de La Ciotat” (Arrival of a Train at La Ciotat). As legend has it, probably exaggerated with time, people ran terrified from the room. More likely, the audience was severely impacted by the oversize image of a train coming at them, and some, seeing images on a screen for the first time, might have been unable to appreciate that the train on the screen was not real. Or at least not physically present in the room with them. I suppose it was real after all—the original train, as well as the moving images. In fact, perhaps the images were more real, or at least more lasting since they, but not the train itself, are still around.
In today’s world, as we move further into surround environments, augmented reality, and virtual reality, we are again faced with these dilemmas. Some people won’t go to a theatre since they find the experience overly intense, as the latest high resolution and high frame rate images along with Dolby Surround overwhelm the senses. Nonetheless, many of us are adapted to many hours looking at screens of various sizes, and for various purposes.
SCREEN TIME AND EYE STRAIN
The question of “how much is enough screen time” breaks into three very different ideas.
The first one is the easy one that I had hoped to ask….what is the effect of looking at a screen on eye strain or overall eye health? Here, legend and parental concern seems to outweigh the evidence. Just using the term “screen time” brings up images of children with square eyes popping out of their heads, unable to focus on objects in the real world followed by a lifetime spent suffering from poor eye sight. Control studies to support this idea, however, are scarce at best. In fact, after decades of watching TV, cinema and now digital screens, consistent serious eyesight problems that can be directly attributed to watching a screen have not emerged.
This is not to say that eye strain might not be a problem.
Does Your Phone Damage Your Eyes?
However, what we mean by eye strain, and whether looking at a screen is any worse than other long-term activities, be it up close work with our hands, far-off scanning over long periods of time, under low light conditions or high light conditions, indoors or outdoors, all requires more investigation. Obviously, if screen time is causing tension headaches, dry eye, or other short-term symptoms, then the time should be reduced, and eyes should be rested.
3 Ways Technology Affects Your Eyes
One recommendation is the 20-20-20 rule. Every 20 minutes, spend 20 seconds looking at least 20 feet off in the distance.
The 20-20-20 rule: Preventing Digital Eye Strain
SCREEN TIME AND THE SEDENTARY LIFESTYLE
The second question brings in a trade-off, a long-standing one that clearly has consequences; in fact, very deep consequences. Most of the time, while we’re looking at a screen, we’re either seated, reclined, or fully laying down. Occasionally, we’re standing, and we’re almost never walking or running or moving our own body, although we might be in a moving vehicle. This trade-off is nothing new. It started in earnest with the television age of the 1950’s and has continued on a steady curve of increasing screen-time and decreasing physical activity.
And time spent watching screens has been shown to correlate with increased obesity, probably due to lower activity levels.
Television Watching And “Sit Time”
However, blaming the screen might not solve the problem
See How Much is enough Physical Activity) and screen-time is also probably good for us:
Research Says Screen Time Can Be Good For Your Kids
SCREEN TIME AND OUR BRAINS
The final question is social-psychological-behavioral-mental and more. This is probably the hardest one. It has to do with WHAT is on the screen. There must be a difference between the effect of time spent playing a first person shooter game, and time spent watching educational science videos. Not that the one precludes the other, and most of, in today’s media-rich world, spend time doing looking and interacting with a wide variety of different kinds of content on the screen. Some evidence suggests that screen time does lead to poor behavior, problems in the classroom and poor educational results
Kids and Screen Time: What Does the Research Say?
And many argue that the supposed benefits far outweigh the risks and that’s imperative to avoid those arguments and simply reduce kids screen time.
Wired Kids: How Screen time Affects Children’s Brains
And of course it’s not only the effect of WHAT you’re watching, but who you are watching and sharing it with. Although our screens have become increasingly small and personal, we have probably also become increasing social about sharing what we watch, either in person or through digital networks. And without a doubt, the way something is shared, and what the other we interact with think of it, influences how we respond. A horror movie, for some, is a cautionary tale, something to be truly frightened of. Others just love the sheer fear. And others find them amusing, a feeble attempt to scare us despite our better sensibilities. In this regard, perhaps what is available in the digital world is not that different from what is around us in the physical world. Access to both positive and negative influences, and the way we process those influences, are risky no matter what the medium.
I choose to leave the larger mind-behavior-society question open with that thought. It is certainly fertile ground for further enough questions: How much interaction with our kids is enough? How much digital interaction, versus “real-world” interaction is enough? How mu;ch social networking is enough? How much gossip is enough? How much time gaming is enough? How much education is enough?
FROLICH STUDENTS:
Please respond with a comment essay. Your essay should be a well-thought-out and rational article. Your essay, which should be a few paragraphs long, should address all of the following:
- A point of view–what is your answer to the question of how much screen time is enough? This might, probably should, be a detailed answer that gets into the details of types of screen time and its physical versus mental and other effects.
- What is the evidence that supports your point of view? Use at least two of the references above, and one additional outside reference. Give your references as URL’s that are embedded in your essay.
- How do you believe we should promote your point of view, or convince people to do what you recommend?
- I recommend writing your essay in a Word document, and then copy it into the Comment box below so that you don’t lose your work and you keep a copy for yourself. Be sure to put a title at the top of your response, and your name in the “by” line.
Don’t post anything you wouldn’t want the class, and the whole world, to read.
This is worth 5 points extra credit towards your final lecture grade.
How much screen time is enough? How much is too much to have a negative impact on a person? This question is important; especially as it relates it to children, because the damage sustained might be permanent.
We can no longer escape being confronted with screens in our society with TV’s, computers, phones. No matter if this progress is a positive or negative, computers invaded our lives and are here to stay.
So how do we make the most of it? I would like to propose the thesis that, “real” social interactions should be longer in time than any artificial screen time. IUD, or Internet use disorder has been added to the Diagnostic and Statistical manual of Mental Health since 2003, we should be aware of the dangers.
Exposing children to too much screen time too early can cause addiction. Dopamine release was proven in the test subjects. Early addiction in life often set the precedent for an adult life of other addictions that might be changing from sugar, drugs, alcohol.
http://breakingmuscle.com/family-kids/wired-kids-how-screen-time-affects-childrens-brains
My thesis seems to be supported by a study of UCLA. That study showed that children that were left with too little real social interaction were lacking social skills. They were unable to relay to other people’s emotion, while a control group after 5 days with no electronic devices showed significant improvements. So it is not too late to schedule maybe a tech free vacation with your child this summer. Or start with establishing rules, like no phone call, no texting during meal times. Another rule might be, do not text somebody, if you can talk to the person. This rule might have been silly to most 10 years ago, but increasingly tweens and teenager text a person in the same room.
And just because I was born before cell phone were invented, does not make me immune. When traveling recently, I had no service on my phone and still made sure I was carrying it with me, charged, at all times.
Another time to avoid the screen, is when it comes to study time. In 2013 USA today showed a study that students retain less when reading on screen.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/02/27/print-ebooks-studies_n_6762674.html
I do believe children have to be raised with the use of electronics, just because those are part of our daily life. Every parent should carefully weigh, what kind of exposure they want to convey. Research at the Joan Ganz Cooney Center studied the relationship between income and screen time. The findings were that children from low income families had more educational time then higher income. This could be that often educational software would be donated rather than expensive and highly promoted video games.
http://www.npr.org/sections/ed/2014/08/28/343735856/kids-and-screen-time-what-does-the-research-say
Referring to video games there are studies that clearly show the connection between violent video games and aggression and anti-social behavior in children and teens. A study by Craig A. Anderson and Brad J. Bushman from Iowa State University back in September 2001 shows clearly the connection. This was 10 years before most of the “14 mass murders linked to violent videogames” list was published and most of them were even committed.
http://www.charismanews.com/culture/52651-14-mass-murders-linked-to-violent-video-games
This should come to no surprise. After all the Stanford prison experiment, lead and published in 1971, showed clearly that, when given the opportunity, anybody put into a position of power with the opportunity to use violence would, become violent within days.
http://www.prisonexp.org/
So the main question about screen time, should be qualitative more than quantitative.
Screen Time Means No Socialization
In today’s society, every single family spends more time on the screen of a laptop, tablet or phone instead of socializing, sharing time and playing with kids. This is especially a problem for adults. As adults we need these screens for work or study, but we need to set up times where we can have face-to-face interaction with our friends and family. Our kids are growing in a society where before they are even two years old, they start manipulating the screen of a phone or tablet. They don’t need those devices, so let’s go back to how things used to be, where we play, talk or read to our kids. Every parent can realize that kids who spends hours in front of a screen don’t have empathy or have less emotional expression. In the article “Kids and screen time: What does the research say?” by Juana Summers, she mentions a UCLA study where kids who did not have exposure to technology and interacted face-to-face with people for five days reacted better to recognizing facial and nonverbal emotions, as compared to kids who were in front of a screen all day. Besides that problem, another concern is that, in general, people who are exposed for hours in front of a screen have the risk of obesity and a lack of social behavior. Using the screen as learning or creative tools is good, but we still need to limit the time of use.
http://www.npr.org/sections/ed/2014/08/28/343735856/kids-and-screen-time-what-does-the-research-say
We notice that kids who spend hours on digital games become more aggressive and insensitive, which we can compare to the reaction of people who are addicted to substances. This behavior is noticeable when a parent tries to take away the child’s tablet after they have been playing hours of a game. If the screen is taken away from this child for two days, the child will most likely start exhibiting anxious behavior.
Screens produce addiction, especially in kids. There is a study that demonstrates that playing on digital devices releases dopamine, which is the pleasure chemical that stimulates the pleasure centers of the brain, like in sugar and cocaine addiction. This means when a child has established a dopamine habit during childhood (sugar or computer games), they are more likely to be dopamine-dependent in the future (addiction problems). In the article “How Screen Time Affects Children’s Brain”, the authors mention that parents let kids use the screen because it is easy and convenient when parents are busy, not because it’s educational. Such usage is only educational if there is parental interaction, especially in younger kids, where they can learn to be focused, etc. No matter what the reason, limits should be set for the use of the screen, and educators and parents should be more creative.
http://breakingmuscle.com/family-kids/wired-kids-how-screen-time-affects-childrens-brains
On the other hand, we always remember our parents telling us when we were children, “don’t get close to the screen of the TV because you can damage your eyes”. However, nowadays, we use all kinds of screens more closely that we use to when we were children. In the article “Does looking at a computer damage your eyes?” Dr. Blakeney, an optometric adviser to the College of Optometrists, said that computers cannot damage the eyes but can aggravate an existing eye ailment or dry eyes, cause irritation problems and other systemic problems.
http://www.news-medical.net/health/Does-looking-at-a-computer-damage-your-eyes.aspx
I recommend that parents be a good example, spending time with their family and limiting their time on cellphones or the TV, especially when sitting next to another person during meal times. By doing that, parents will be able to set up times for screen use, family and friends.
According to an article by Bianca Seidman, too much screen time can be detrimental to your eyes. Screen time can include smartphones, tablets, computers, and televisions. Eye strain to the extrinsic muscles of the eye is one adverse effect that may lead to dry eye, irritation, diminished blink rate, and fatigued or blurred vision. The most alarming point in the article was how most digital screens emit blue light and is backlit, or high-energy visible light waves. These light wavelengths are reported to cause irritation that may lead to permanent damage to the retina of the eye. The retina is important because it receives light and converts the light into a neural signal so that the brain can interpret it for visual recognition. Also, blue light can suppress the sleep hormone melatonin which can disturb ones natural circadian rhythm.
Excessive screen time can range from 5- 9hrs although that may be up for debate. The 20-20-20 rule was developed to relieve such adverse effects and goes a little something like this. For every 20 minutes you look at a device, look away to fixate on an object 20 feet away for 20 seconds or more. This will aid in the relaxation of those eye muscles. As for the blue light issue, screen filters and anti-reflective lenses can most likely be purchased from a store near you. These objects will help reduce the amount of blue light reaching the retina.
Excessive screen time also leads to obesity and a sedentary lifestyle for the obvious reasons. When you spend too much time in front of the television you spend less time exercising. This can lead to a plethora a health issue and can often resort in death. T.V. commercials and ads on other devices further exacerbate these health risks by marketing foods and beverages that are unhealthy.
On a personal note, excessive use of devices is not only damaging for the eyes, it leads to procrastination, laziness, and a deficit in critical thinking abilities among other things. I fear that although these devices provide efficiency, too much efficiency will be a problem in generations to come cognitively. Scientist found that excessive screen time results in gray matter shrinkage which then affects the white matters ability to communicate.
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/screen-time-digital-eye-strain/
http://www.bustle.com/articles/117838-5-things-too-much-screen-time-does-to-your-body
http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/obesity-prevention-source/obesity-causes/television-and-sedentary-behavior-and-obesity/
How much screen time is enough? How much is too much to have a negative impact on a person? This question is important; especially as it relates it to children, because the damage sustained might be permanent.
We can no longer escape being confronted with screens in our society with TV’s, computers, phones. No matter if this progress is a positive or negative, computers invaded our lives and are here to stay.
So how do we make the most of it? I would like to propose the thesis that, “real” social interactions should be longer in time than any artificial screen time. IUD, or Internet use disorder has been added to the Diagnostic and Statistical manual of Mental Health since 2003, we should be aware of the dangers.
Exposing children to too much screen time too early can cause addiction. Dopamine release was proven in the test subjects. Early addiction in life often set the precedent for an adult life of other addictions that might be changing from sugar, drugs, alcohol.
http://breakingmuscle.com/family-kids/wired-kids-how-screen-time-affects-childrens-brains
My thesis seems to be supported by a study of UCLA. That study showed that children that were left with too little real social interaction were lacking social skills. They were unable to relay to other people’s emotion, while a control group after 5 days with no electronic devices showed significant improvements. So it is not too late to schedule maybe a tech free vacation with your child this summer. Or start with establishing rules, like no phone call, no texting during meal times. Another rule might be, do not text somebody, if you can talk to the person. This rule might have been silly to most 10 years ago, but increasingly tweens and teenager text a person in the same room.
And just because I was born before cell phone were invented, does not make me immune. When traveling recently, I had no service on my phone and still made sure I was carrying it with me, charged, at all times.
Another time to avoid the screen, is when it comes to study time. In 2013 USA today showed a study that students retain less when reading on screen.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/02/27/print-ebooks-studies_n_6762674.html
I do believe children have to be raised with the use of electronics, just because those are part of our daily life. Every parent should carefully weigh, what kind of exposure they want to convey. Research at the Joan Ganz Cooney Center studied the relationship between income and screen time. The findings were that children from low income families had more educational time then higher income. This could be that often educational software would be donated rather than expensive and highly promoted video games.
http://www.npr.org/sections/ed/2014/08/28/343735856/kids-and-screen-time-what-does-the-research-say
Referring to video games there are studies that clearly show the connection between violent video games and aggression and anti-social behavior in children and teens. A study by Craig A. Anderson and Brad J. Bushman from Iowa State University back in September 2001 shows clearly the connection. This was 10 years before most of the “14 mass murders linked to violent videogames” list was published and most of them were even committed.
http://www.charismanews.com/culture/52651-14-mass-murders-linked-to-violent-video-games
This should come to no surprise. After all the Stanford prison experiment, lead and published in 1971, showed clearly that, when given the opportunity, anybody put into a position of power with the opportunity to use violence would, become violent within days.
http://www.prisonexp.org/
So the main question about screen time, should be qualitative more than quantitative.
. And they comprehend less of the information presented in digital books.
USA Today shared a 2013 study showing that students retain less when reading on a screen. The study’s creator blamed this on the “flash gimmicks” embedded in many ebooks. She also suspects being able to collectively turn to the same page enhances group discussion.
Bright Lights
As an adolescent you probably heard your parents saying do not sit close to the television or you’ll have terrible eyesight for the rest of your life. Staring at a screen whether it is a cell phone, television or anything dealing with technology can be unhealthy for you not just your sight. I like many other people may have experience irritable eyes, blurred vision, eye fatigue, or head and neck pain after using a smartphone or even the desktop computer for a long period of time. According to Simone Hall from digital trends that is called digital eye strain sometimes considered to be called computer vision syndrome. “Because they emit HEV light (also called blue light), staring at phone and tablet screens may actually harm our eyes permanently. HEV light is that portion of the visible light spectrum that comprises light with the shortest wavelengths, which carry the greatest potential to damage living tissue.”
http://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/does-your-phone-damage-your-eyes-an-experts-advice/
Too much screen time makes it hard to sleep at night for example I usually do not go to bed until one in the morning sometimes even later because I’m so caught into my phone whether I’m on social media or watching youtube videos on my phone. And from not getting enough rest it raise risk of attention problems, anxiety, and depression. It can also cause risk of gaining too much weight because when you’re sitting in front of a television you tend to want to eat. And most of the time you are not paying attention to how much food is being consume. Also depending on how long you have been sitting in front of a screen maybe three hours to five that’s hours you have been inactive.
https://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/patientinstructions/000355.htm
Although it’s hard to stay away from a screen mainly your phone there is minor things you can do to prevent digital eye strain such as “every twenty minutes give your eyes a break and take them off the computer. Blinking more to refresh your eyes when working people blink less, blinking helps produce tears that moisten and refresh your eyes. And adjust computer display settings, adjusting the brightness, text size, contrast and cool temperature of your computer settings can prevent eyestrain and fatigue.”
http://visianinfo.com/wp-content/uploads/The-20-20-20-Rule.png
Living in the digital age I believe its really difficult for people to stay away from screens or even take a break from them because we are surrounded by technology. I’m not saying to completely minus television or cell phones out of your life but because we are at risk of many health issues dealing with technology there should be a reduction of how much usage goes on in a day.
TAKE CARE OF YOUR EYE!
KIMBERLY TIMOTHEE
You’ve been missing out on your favorite TV show Scandal due to the fact that your always at work and school, but then finally you have a whole entire summer when you can finally catch up on Scandal and some other shows you been missing out on. So you day by day your glued to the sofa watching television all day long for a month period long. Yikes that’s a lot but we all do it believe it or not. I believe we should all have a minimum to watching television anything in that nature such as our cellphones, computers and tablets. Yes at this day in age there’re all we have I mean technology is expanding thanks to our scientists
In Addition, I think that we should put down our technologies and balance out the time that we use sitting down watching television or even laying down while on the phone. If not put more time in being active. Lacking that lifestyle can cause you to have a lot of health issues that us as humans are now suffering from across the world not only the United States of America. From the article “Physical Activity and Health” “Since a landmark study in 195332 found that London Transport Authority bus drivers were more likely to develop heart disease than their more active bus conductor colleagues, the link between physical activity and disease has been explored extensively. There is now a large body of evidence on the importance of physical activity in disease prevention. 1,7,10,11,12,25 Inactivity contributes to premature death, the development of heart disease and stroke, obesity, type 2 diabetes, colon cancer, breast cancer, poor skeletal health and depression.1,10,11,12 A large-scale study5, estimated that, worldwide, physical inactivity causes 6% of the burden of disease from heart disease, 7% of type 2 diabetes and 10% of breast and colon cancers. Overall it was calculated that inactivity caused 5.3 million premature deaths worldwide.”
http://www.eufic.org/article/en/expid/Physical_Activity_and_Health/
Furthermore, your eyes can also be damaged from starring straight at a screen for long periods of time. Growing up our mothers have always told us to not sit close to the television while watching it in fact they still do I know my mother do. The question is was our mother’s right about us damaging our eyes if we sit close to the television this whole time? I truly think so, I am a great example because now I can’t see from a far I wear glasses. To support my reasons I have the article stated below.
“You don’t need to worry about going cross-eyed, but your mom may have had a point about sitting too close to the TV. It may actually harm your eyes. Proximity is definitely a factor in eye strain and HEV light exposure.
“The amount of HEV light exposure a person receives depends on many factors, including screen technology, screen size, screen brightness, distance from the screen to the user’s face, and duration of use.” Dr. Heiting explains. “Even though smartphones have small screens, they potentially could cause greater cumulative HEV light exposure than a large-screen TV.”
http://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/does-your-phone-damage-your-eyes-an-experts-advice/
To conclude, I feel like we as a society should promote better health and have our kids especially to get out and be active instead of just sitting in front of the television when they’re not at school. We should come up with several organizations. Parents should always have a plan for the kid when they get home so they won’t be tempted to just watch television or play on their tablets. It should be a limit. As for us adults we should definitely get it together and put our phones down and observe our surroundings even when were at the dinner table we should but all technologies down and enjoy literally. “Use your free time to create and grow, and you will find yourself living a more meaningful life.”
http://www.lifehack.org/articles/lifestyle/3-ways-to-stop-living-vicariously-through-technology.html
There are a lot of factor that contributes to stress and stain on the body computer vision syndrome is something that can occur when staring at a screen for countless amount of time Eye fatigue or eye strain common and annoying condition. which people such as my self often experiences (The symptoms include tired, itching, and burning eyes.) Eye fatigue is not a very serious condition it can be help by thing such as looking away from the screen for about 20 min i often experienced all through school when writing paper i would experience blurred visions i often experienced this after 2 hours or 3 hours of constant staring and being so close up to the screen but i believe about 1 hour and a half is good enough. However there alot of factor that can influences stress such as not having a balance diet, hour of sleeping can be a factors
Light it up
Light is inevitable. It plays a role in our biological clock. Historically saying, light was a mechanism of telling time without looking at a clock or watch. We no longer live in primitive times. However, we are living in a new dimension where light has been generated into screens on electronic devices that can have an effect on your health. For instance, guilty as charged, the first thing I do on this earth is to reach for my iPhone. It’s like a magnetic charge. Instead of turning on the light in the room, I touch my phone and boom, there is light. As a result of my involuntary actions, sometimes I wake up with headaches and dry eyes. According to Richard Shugarman a professor of ophthalmology at the Bascom Palmer Eye Institute at the University of Miami, spending hours on a computer or hand- held device keeps the eyes converged and strains the eye muscles to cause headaches.
http://www.livescience.com/35579-3-ways-technology-affects-eyes.html
Screens on mobile devices tend to be smaller than any other electronic device, which means you are more likely to squint and strain your eyes while reading messages and surfing the internet.
In addition, spending too much time watching television can have a negative effect on your physical health. Studies conducted at Harvard T.H. Chain school of health, followed children over long periods of time have consistently found that children who have TV sets in their bedrooms are also more likely to gain excess weight than children who don’t. http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/obesity-prevention-source/obesity-causes/television-and-sedentary-behavior-and-obesity/
Children of this generation aren’t engaging in outdoor activities. They would go straight to their room and turn on the television rather than go outside and play good old fashion “kick ball.” Back in my generation, we were fortunate to have just one television in the home. Nowadays, there’s a television in every room of the house.
Mobile phones and computers can have an effect on your mental health as well. Too much of anything can cause an addiction. The brain sends out neurotransmitters such as dopamine that satisfies compulsive engagements. According to the Diagnostic and Mental Disorders, the bible of mental health commonly known as the DSM-V, if you’re having withdrawal, including feelings of anger, tension and/ or depression when the computer is inaccessible, you can be diagnose with compulsive impulsive spectrum disorder.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/sitting-and-screen-time-how-they-affect-your-health-1.810018
In short, mobile phones and televisions are addictive, but can be beneficial. If we do plan on using any electronic device that transmits light to the eyes, we should keep blinking our eyes so that we can produce tears to keep the eyes moist. Also, we should follow the 20-20-20 rule. This keeps the eye muscle working harder over a full range of their focus instead of gluing your eyes to the screen from a short distance. Please limit your screen time to 2 or 3 times a day to prevent any disorder. Furthermore, I recommend parents should engage in outdoor activities with their children every weekend to keep them from lounging around the house.
Lights, Camera, Action…..
I am currently multitasking, surfing the internet, television turned
up to the max and surfing Instagram. This is the time we live in, where this generation is practically glued to the screen (t.v, cell phone and internet). But when is enough, enough? I believe that with moderation and considering work/school obligations, screen time should be limited to 2-3 hours per day (leisure). Research indicates that with prolong exposure to screens (t.v in particular) can lead to negative social behaviors, decrease interaction with peers and mental disorders. Therefore limiting the number of hours spent watching Tv can reduce these conditions among adults and children.
“Over a decade ago in 1998, a group of neurologists from the Imperial College of Medicine in London demonstrated a pretty conclusive link between video games and increased dopamine levels”. However it seems like adults and children are gravitating toward playstation and Wii games, spending countless hours in front of the screen. “May 2013, “internet use disorder” (IUD) will be added to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Health Disorders, published by the American Psychiatric Association. Therefore one can infer that screen time changes a childs mood and brain chemistry. This can be seen with adults as well. If I am away from my phone for 1 minute, I m going crazy: nonetheless if I loose my phone.
http://breakingmuscle.com/family-kids/wired-kids-how-screen-time-affects-childrens-brains
The suggestion of 2-3 hours a day for screen time I believe s sensible. Research also indicates that: “Entertainment “screen time” should be limited to two hours a day for children ages 3-18. And, for 2-year-olds and younger, none at all”. This should be carried through for adults as well. Making the rest of the day productive and connecting physically with peers.
http://www.npr.org/sections/ed/2014/08/28/343735856/kids-and-screen-time-what-does-the-research-say
This also holds true for adults who need to limit their screen time. Research in a 2008 study revealed, “a pretty strong link between screen time and metabolic syndrome”, leading to diabetes and other chronic diseases.
http://www.bustle.com/articles/117838-5-things-too-much-screen-time-does-to-your-body
I propose that parents limit exposure to screens (tv, phone and internet) from children but also with adults. This can be done by being active in physical activities, reading to children and having a schedule which promotes discipline. For this to happen, celebrity involvement would be necessary. Encourage concert going, sport camps, and social gathering that pull children and adults away from the screen. Lets cut off the lights, camera and get into action.
How much is enough screen time?
Over many years people have been told that looking at a screen for long periods of time can damage your eyesight, even cause total blindness. I for one heard my mother say that to my sister and I since we were able to sit in front of a screen. After carefully searching the Internet I have come to the conclusion that there is not enough evidence to support those claims. Obviously staring into a screen for long periods of time can cause your eyes to become irritated, perhaps you might even feel the occasional headache but once that subsides there really isn’t any permanent damage or at least any that scientists can prove. If after years and years of this myth going around no scientist has been able to prove the validity of this claim I think that it is a myth and will stay a myth forever. One thing is to strain your eyes and another is to claim that it will cause blindness.
http://www.webmd.com/eye-health/fact-fiction-myths-about-eyes http://www.health.com/health/gallery/0,,20680760,00.html
Turn It Off
People who were born in the late early 90’s are probably the last generation that got to experience the technology and screen free childhood to enter adulthood into a world full of new technologies. New generations are raised surrounded my all different types of screens, including and not limited to phones, televisions, computers, tablets, video games and so on. Even schools are moving from paper textbooks to e-books and requiring students to buy tablets or have a computer.
Although technological advances have been very beneficial in many aspects, there has also been an increased in screen exposure, decrease in physical activity and decrease in social interaction.
A study conducted by Falbe e.t. a.l., concluded that lack of physical activity and increased screen exposure is associated with adiposity. Based on the type of screen, different relationships have been found when it comes to overweight and obesity, mainly in childhood. Television, is the most consistently type of screen associated with obesity. Along with decreased physical activity goes increased snacking and exposure to advertisement that promotes consumption of unhealthy foods.
Link: http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/pediatrics/132/6/e1497.full.pdf
A link to obesity has been found not only in the childhood population but also among adults. Obesity during adulthood carries much more many complications including multiple chronic conditions such as diabetes. As previously mentioned, food advertisement has been proved to affect food choices, usually trending toward unhealthy options.
Link: http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/obesity-prevention-source/obesity-causes/television-and-sedentary-behavior-and-obesity/
After reviewing the consequences of increased screen exposure the question that comes to mind is why, even if people know that increased screen time is not beneficial, they still let their children play video games or watch television for many hours, or use their phones at mealtime; or even make the movie theaters the activity of choice? Parents have reported convenience as the main reason. It is a way for many parents who have to work extensive hours to have their kids distracted and in a safe environment. Other parents reported screens as a source of education and focus for children. It has been prove that at least video games increase Dopamine levels, the “motivational chemical”.
Link: http://breakingmuscle.com/family-kids/wired-kids-how-screen-time-affects-childrens-brains
In my opinion, it is hard to determine how much time is too much time. I believe that is a matter of balance. Screen exposure, social time, physical activity, education have to be in balance as any imbalance in life would have adverse effects. I think that parents should use screens as educational tools, and should emphasize social and family time as a priority by not allowing any technologies during mealtimes and social meetings. Coming from a generation that grew up playing on the street and technology free, I would not replace that with any type of screen.
Turn It Off and Go Live Your Life
I am not the type of person that just sits around watching television, except during football season, and on the same note I am not a gamer. This goes for everyone in my immediate family and for which I am grateful. In my close personal relationships throughout life I have seen two main reasons for which people indulge themselves in this type of behavior. They are either trying to forget or ignore the real world around them, or they are looking for some sort of accomplishment or self-worth that they lack in real life. I have come to understand why they do these things even if I cannot appreciate it myself. I was brought up to live life. Consequences be damned. If I have a day that’s free I would rather spend it playing golf, or going to the beach, or staying in bed all day with a gorgeous brunette. I don’t want to get to the end of my life just to look back wonder if I wasted my time on earth. I want to know that I lived, that’s it, just lived!
There are other reasons people should limit the time spent with technology. For starters, studies have shown watching TV leads to a greater chance of obesity and a shorter life span. http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/obesity-prevention-source/obesity-causes/television-and-sedentary-behavior-and-obesity/ Life is short enough, do you really want to speed the process up? Other studies have shown watching television in excess puts a strain on your eyes and causes tension headaches. http://www.livescience.com/35579-3-ways-technology-affects-eyes.html That just leads to taking Tylenol and the eventual decimation of your liver. No thanks!
The examples listed above about the negative effects of technology are big. However, in my opinion, when it messes with your sleep, that’s where the problems really start. When you don’t get enough sleep, it affects your mood, your job, your relationships, basically everything that has any real meaning in your life. Here is how it works. The human body releases melatonin a couple hours before you sleep as part of the winding down process. Unfortunately, seeing blue lights, prevents the release of this hormone, throwing you off your normal wind down cycle. https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/blue-light-from-electronics-disturbs-sleep-especially-for-teenagers/2014/08/29/3edd2726-27a7-11e4-958c-268a320a60ce_story.html The bad news though is that blue light comes from everything. If you are reading on your phone, black and white text, blue light is there helping to illuminate the screen. It comes out of your TV, your phone, iPad, laptop; basically anything electronic with a screen. In short, if you’re having issues sleeping, turn everything off and go read a book for a couple hours, it might just do you wonders!
So there you have several reasons for seriously limiting the time you spend with technology, both positive and negative to the effect. I would rather go out and LIVE my life! What about you?