It's a tempting habit for young people to glance at their smartphones or tablets rather than make eye contacts with someone and make conversations! There is so much to look at: photographs, social media feeds, messages and emails; it's no wonder they are glued to their screens. But is it good for them?
There have been many claims about the damage looking at screens does to our eyesight. Some people fear staring at a small bright box could make us, especially children and young people, short-sighted or give rise to headaches. BBC technology correspondent, Rory Cellan-Jones, says, "There is plenty of anecdotal evidence that no matter how long teenagers are spending looking at screens, they are encountering material that could prove damaging to their mental health."
But a new study indicates time in front of computers and phones might not be as harmful for young people as many think. Research by the Oxford Internet Institute examined data from more than 17,000 teenagers in the UK, Ireland and the United States. Their study concluded that most links between life satisfaction and social media use were not worth considering, accounting for less than 1% of a teenager's well-being. Professor Przybylski, director of the research, said, "99.75% of a person's life satisfaction has nothing to do with their use of social media." The research found that family, friends and school life all had a greater impact on well-being.
So, does this mean young people can spend longer looking at social media? The Oxford researchers are confident that their study is impressive in its findings and that any connection between screen time and mental health is very small. Dr. Max Davie, officer of health improvement at the Royal College, calls the study a "small first step", but he said there were other issues to explore, such as screen time's interference with other important activities like sleep, exercise and time with family or friends. Perhaps for now, deciding what the "right" amount of screen time is has to be down to personal judgment.
