Mental health and technology – Learning Project post

One of the main goals of relearning to enjoy reading was done mostly with one goal in mind; get off my phone. I have been at times pretty addicted to TikTok, and I found the quick scrolling badly affecting my already minimal attention span and my executive function was suffering the same fate. I feel like I have been a broken record talking about my attention span, motivation and the struggles I have with ADHD, but this was a bigger project than just learning a new skill, it was an effort to retrain my brain. I have been on this journey mainly because of the negative effects I’ve seen screen time have on not just my own mental health, but others around me as well.

The Evidence:

• According to an article by Yale School of Medicine: [the study] found that youth who spent the most time on their digital technology were statistically more likely to exhibit higher levels of internalizing problems two years later. Internalizing problems include depression, anxiety, social anxiety, somatic complaints, and other concerns. This association between frequent screen time and mental health problems was mediated by specific changes in brain development.
• In an article released by the National Library of Medicine, it is stated that: We examined a large (n = 40,337) national random sample of 2- to 17-year-old children and adolescents in the U.S. in 2016 that included comprehensive measures of screen time (including cell phones, computers, electronic devices, electronic games, and TV) and an array of psychological well-being measures. After 1 h/day of use, more hours of daily screen time were associated with lower psychological well-being, including less curiosity, lower self-control, more distractibility, more difficulty making friends, less emotional stability, being more difficult to care for, and inability to finish tasks. Among 14- to 17-year-olds, high users of screens (7+ h/day vs. low users of 1 h/day) were more than twice as likely to ever have been diagnosed with depression. . . ever diagnosed with anxiety. . . treated by a mental health professional. . . or have taken medication for a psychological or behavioral issue. . . in the last 12 months.

I have been wanting to decrease the amount of screen time I get in the day for months. I delete Facebook and redownload it all the time. On days off I purposefully don’t plug in my phone before bed so I have to leave it charging for a couple hours in the morning. In my previous post, I spoke about the impact music has had on my ability to accomplish more mundane tasks around the house, but it has also helped me reduce my screen time. I can’t watch TikToks and listen to music at the same time. I can hardly use any apps on my phone without my music cutting out. So if I want to listen to music, I can’t scroll. With already taking these actions, my screen time has been reduced and my attention span is improving. Something else I have done is download the app “Opal“. Opal caught my eye in a very shocking ad that caught my attention while scrolling TikTok. This app has many very interesting features, such as a focus report, as well as being one of the only non-bypassable app when it comes to putting time limits on apps. Now, that being said… I haven’t set it up. I have been scared to take the leap to block certain apps because as much as my bad habits inhibit me, they serve a purpose. The journey to a healthy screentime balance takes time, but maybe tonight will be the leap I need to continue my path.

Best of luck to all of you through finals and all of your future endeavors!