Doctors have been warning about the mental health problems caused by prolonged screen time. A study published in JAMA Network Open concluded that reducing this activity helps reduce anxiety, stress, insomnia, and promotes socialization.

The idea was to ask the participants, nearly 400 young people between 18 and 24 years old, not to use Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, and X for seven days. Dr. John Torou, co-author of the study, notes that some participants did not complete the test. Nevertheless, the results are encouraging, as there was significant clinical improvement “across key areas after just seven days. The data indicated that symptoms of depression decreased by 24.8%, anxiety by 16.1%, and sleep problems fell by 14.5 %.”

Digital phenotyping revealed that, although social media use dropped from about two hours a day to just 30 minutes, total screen time increased slightly by 4.5 %, and participants spent 6.3 % more time at home. This suggests that participants shifted from endlessly scrolling through TikTok to other digital activities such as messaging, browsing the internet, or playing games.

According to the specialist, “the problem isn’t the screen itself, but how we use it. The study indicates that screen time has a weak association with mental health, since what’s truly harmful is problematic use, such as negative social comparison or emotional addiction to the platforms.”

M.Pino

Source: xataka

(Reference image source: Panos Sakalakis on Unsplash)

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The excessive use of new technologies has raised concerns among doctors and therapists, who point to screen addiction, social media use, and internet browsing as the culprits.

Among the consequences of digital addiction are the loss of control over the time people spend using technology, as well as the accumulation of stress from prolonged browsing and above-average news consumption, which generates “irritability, anxiety, and difficulty enjoying life outside the screen.”

Regarding AI, the consequences are identified as “emotional dependence on conversational chatbots, image or content generators, and applications based on LLMs (large language models), as well as the excessive use of virtual assistants in daily life.”

According to the organization Internet and Technology Addicts Anonymous (ITAA), “any digital activity can turn into compulsive and problematic behavior,” which is why they have created a support group to help people recover from internet addiction, mobile phone addiction, video game console addiction, online shopping addiction, and dating app addiction. ITAA has been inspired by the methodology of the Twelve Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous to address these issues.

Another example of helpful initiatives is a community on platforms like Reddit, “where users share their experiences with compulsive use of AI chatbots, automated messaging apps, and video games” through the r/characterairecovery community, which serves as a refuge for users seeking to reduce their compulsive use of Character.AI and other similar systems.

This group has approximately 900 members who share their frustrations and success stories to help others.

M.Pino

Source: infobae

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The findings of a study by the Danube University in Krems near Vienna suggest that using a mobile phone for less than two hours a day has benefits for people’s mental health.

The research, which was published in the journal BMC Medicine, is clear about the health benefits of this change in daily mobile phone use. According to the results, the head of the research team, Christoph Pieh, emphasizes: “For the first time we were able to demonstrate a causal relationship between smartphone use and mental health.”

Researchers analysed the benefits of reducing mobile phone use

During the study, participants were divided into two groups. While in the first group, participants reduced their mobile phone use to a maximum of two hours a day, the second group continued with their usual routine of an average of four and a half hours a day.

After a period of three weeks, it was observed that those who made up the first group “showed a decrease in depressive symptoms by 27 % and stress by 16 %, while sleep quality increased by 18 % and general well-being improved by 14 %.”

Professor Pieh, in light of the results, recommended reducing the time spent in front of digital device screens by more than two hours and, in addition, achieving a “sustainable change in usage behavior” despite consumer habits in the digital age.

The researcher in charge of the study stressed that the positive effects of using the mobile phone less do not last if it does not become a habit. He added that “after the trial, participants again increased the time they spend in front of screens, so the psychological symptoms worsened.”

M.Pino

Source: elsiglo

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California Attorney General Rob Bonta has introduced a bill to require social media to post warning labels about health problems for minors resulting from prolonged browsing.

According to U.S. health authorities, “users who browse social media for more than three hours a day “are exposed to a double risk of experiencing mental health problems.”

Attorney General Bonta’s bill, known as AB 56, is supported by Assemblywoman Rebecca Bauer-Kahan. Both have referred that “subscribers, especially children and adolescents, should have access to clear information about the harmful effects that can be caused by the use of social media services. They suggest that companies such as Meta, Snap, ByteDance or X should show notices to users of all ages when they log in for the first time.”

Then, the sending of these notifications should be weekly, remain on screen for at least 90 seconds and cannot be skipped.

The legal tool is based on the provisions provided for in the laws of Protection against Cyberbullying and Prevention of Online Violence, which are in force in the state of California.

Among the provisions is the obligation for social networks to “inform about their protocols to avoid, detect and contain cyberbullying and the dissemination of violent materials.”

The bill addresses the problem of addiction to social networks among minors in particular. In this regard, it is appropriate to remember that in the United States the minimum age to use these digital communication spaces is 13 years old. Despite this, nearly 40% of children between 8 and 12 years old are members of one of these platforms.

“Vivek Murthy, the director general of public health in the United States, said at the beginning of the year that big tech should adopt a labeling system to warn about its possible negative effects on psychological well-being. The proposal was presented to Congress and supported by 42 attorneys general, including Bonta.”

M.Pino

Source: wired

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The countries participating in the Qatar 2022 World Cup install ‘Friendship Benches’ in Doha, a project organized by Sport for Health, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Qatar Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) to demonstrate the importance of mental health and offer advice on ways to promote mental well-being, including through the importance of physical activity and sport.

The initiative is supported by FIFA, the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy, WISH, the NGO Friendship Benches and the WHO Universal Health Coverage Association. The benches initiative was symbolically launched with the Bench of England previewing the Qatar Foundation’s global health event, the World Innovation Summit for Health (WISH) in the run-up to a larger reveal of the benchs in World Mental Health Day.

English athlete Sir Mo Farah, with ten Olympic and world gold medals, opened the England bench. “The bench is a simple yet powerful vehicle for promoting mental health, from park benches where people gather to football stadiums where players and staff watch their teams play for the joy and promise of sport and success. The Friendship Benches project is a powerful reminder of the importance of how health, from mental to physical health, is precious and common to all people and nations; how, through sport people can reach out to others, as human beings, in the spirit of solidarity and support,” said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

The final locations of each of the 32 banks will be announced soon. Once installed, information will be shared on how Qatari residents and visitors will be able to visit their national benches, and others, in a show of support for promoting mental health.

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Source: dpa

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A week without using social networks such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and TikTok could improve people’s well-being and reduce mental health disorders such as depression and anxiety.

It is one of the conclusions reached by a study carried out by a team of researchers from the University of Bath (United Kingdom), who wanted to know how the use of these platforms affects, focusing research on the mental health effects of subjects with a break of one week.

As reported by the institution, the consumption habits of 154 people between the ages of 18 and 72 who used the networks on a daily basis were taken as a reference, and they were divided into two groups.

The first one was the control group, which was able to continue using social networks. The other group of participants was asked to take a one-week break, in which they stayed away from their social media accounts such as Instagram, Twitter, Facebook or TikTok, and which resulted in “significant improvement” in well-being, depression and anxiety.

On the other hand, the research also found that people who took a one-week break reported using these social networks for an average of 21 minutes in that time, compared to an average of seven hours for the control group, who did not have restrictions.

“Many of our participants reported positive effects of staying away from social media, including improved mood and less anxiety. This suggests that even a short break can have an impact,” said the lead researcher from the Department of Health. of Bathz, Dr. Jeff Lambert.

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Source: dpa

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Attorneys general from the states of California, Florida and Kentucky in the USA joined forces to investigate the potential effect of the social network TikTok on the mental and physical health of young people. The objective of the study is to determine whether the way in which the company “designs, operates and markets its platform has a negative effect on the health of children, adolescents and young adults.”

The group of prosecutors is focusing the investigation on the methods and techniques used by the social network. The algorithm used by TikTok allows establishing the type of content that is exposed to users “and is very effective in keeping them interested”

The representatives of the company have explained on other occasions the operation of the social network. However, prosecutors want to delve into the methods and techniques used to “boost the participation of its users, as well as the length of time they usually spend on the platform.”

TikTok’s reaction to the lawsuits

It is not the first time that the social network has faced an investigation or lawsuit. In 2019 the company had to pay 5.7 million dollars to the FTC to solve the accusations that its “predecessor: Musical.ly.” A platform that was denounced because it did not have the necessary permissions from “the parents of young children who had signed up to use the app.”

Additionally, that agreement intended that TikTok also limit the way in which users “under the age of 13 interact with the content of the application”. Recently, another group of researchers expressed concern about the “few studies that had been carried out on the possible impact of the platform on mental health.”

Ben Rathe, a spokesman for the social network TikTok, expressed his opinion about the investigation being carried out by the attorneys general and indicated that his company “appreciates that the state attorneys general focus on the safety of younger users.” And he noted that the company hopes to provide all the “information about the many security and privacy protections they have for teens.”

The prosecutors’ investigation has other companies responsible for other social networks on the lookout because both Meta and Snapchat are modeling inspiration on TikTok in order to improve or develop their applications.

M. Rodríguez

Source: tekcrispy.com

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