You can almost do anything on a mobile device. You can watch movies and TV shows, go shopping, read, and even call and text. With there being phones, tablets, laptops, and TVs, most people have all of them. As we know screen time has been associated with affecting peoples mental health and here’s how.
Screen time is bad for your sleep as it can damage your mental health; “Insufficient sleep, either in quality or duration, has been associated with worsening of many mental health conditions, including depression and anxiety”(Langham).
You may have notice that when you don’t get enough sleep you wake up more moody than usual, that’s because it’s hard for your body to function properly when your deprived of sleep. Turning off your electronics about 20 minutes before bed is recommend because when your brain senses light it doesn’t activate a hormone called melatonin in your which tells you go to sleep. When this doesn’t happen it causes lack of sleep that could later turns into mental health problems if consistent.
Spending lots of time on social media can lower your self-esteem; “If you notice a pattern of feeling poorly about yourself while scrolling through social media, it may be time to change your routine by cleaning up your feed and spending less time on it” (Langham).
You might be comparing yourself to someone on social media or you might be a victim to cyber-bulling and you start to think less of yourself based off of what someone said about you or what they have. Then, you probably need to stay away from social media for awhile and enjoy outside, come back to social media when you’ve cleared your head and start to look at things that make you happy because soon your social media platforms will show you things that make you happy.
Not all technology is bad there are many apps and websites that help people cope with things everyday; “With a quick search, you can download supportive apps for depression, anxiety, PTSD and more” (Langham).
You can connect to people way easier and thanks to technology there are 24/7 online communities that people can rely on such as suicide hotlines. You can even maintain relationships and reach out to others when you feel lonely. You can start book clubs, raise money for charitable events, and even help others.
We know that technology can be good or bad depending on how you use it. If you choose to use it in a negative way it can have negative affects on your mental oppose to you using it a positive way.
