Children's mental health harmed by excessive screen time: help for parents
South Africans spend more time on screens than almost any other nation and the obsession is fuelling a mental health crisis among children and adolescents, warns the South African Society of Psychiatrists (Sasop).
Globally, excessive screen use has become so widespread that 'brain-rot' — a term used to capture concerns about the effect of consuming excessive amounts of low-quality online content, especially on social media — was named the Oxford Dictionary's Word of the Year.
The effect on children is alarmingly evident, the society said.
Adolescents who spend more than five hours per day on digital devices are 70% more likely to have suicidal thoughts or actions than those who spend less than an hour a day. Even adolescents with moderate screen time of 4-6 hours per day are more likely to report symptoms of anxiety and depression than those with two hours less screen time per day.
A study in 14 countries reviewing children from pre-primary to high school found mobile phones consistently distracted pupils from learning. Simply having a phone nearby, especially with notifications coming through, is enough to break their attention. Another study showed that once distracted, it can take up to 20 minutes for children to refocus.
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The South African
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Mail & Guardian
17 hours ago
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Elon Musk, depression and South Africa's cowboy ketamine clinics
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The Citizen
18 hours ago
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Bird flu: Government lifts ban on most chicken imports from Brazil
South Africa will on 19 June 2025 partially lift the import suspension of all poultry and poultry products from Brazil. South Africa is set to allow chicken imports from Brazilian states that do not have cases of avian influenza, commonly known as bird flu. An outbreak of the disease in one state of Brazil saw a blanket ban being imposed by South Africa, which left many fearing the consequences. The poultry industry was left divided by the ban. Others continuously put pressure on the Department of Agriculture to partially lift the ban, while others kept reassuring the public that there is no need to worry about a chicken shortage, as local producers can make up for the gap. However, the department has succumbed to the pressure and partially lifted the ban from Thursday, 19 June 2025. 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The veterinary services of the department engaged with their Brazilian counterparts to determine the extent of the outbreak, the steps taken to contain it, and whether there were any other outbreaks on other farms or in other states. 'We are glad that a month after the outbreak was reported in Brazil, we have been able to assess and confirm that risks associated with the importation of poultry and poultry products from Brazil are insignificant. We are closely monitoring the situation,' added Minister of Agriculture John Steenhuisen. Safe to eat chicken from Brazil Georg Southey, Manager of Merlog Foods, told The Citizen the lifting of the ban does not pose a risk of introducing bird flu into the country. 'The agreement is based on a regionalisation approach, meaning imports will only come from Brazilian states (provinces) not affected by the outbreak. The outbreak occurred in just one state, Rio Grande do Sul, and imports from that area remain suspended. 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