Latest news with #Screen-FreeWeek
Daily Mirror
05-05-2025
- Health
- Daily Mirror
Going screen-free for a week urged by expert as they issue stark health warning
Experts say too much screen time may be reshaping children's brains affecting focus, mood, memory and social skills during key stages of development but complete elimination isn't the answer In 2025, you'd be hard pressed to find a family that doesn't incorporate a screen into their family life. Whether it's Miss Rachel whilst busy parents slog through their already packed and demanding days, or CBeebies Bedtime stories read by your favourite famous person. The digital world has become a normal part of modern-day parenting. Experts are alarmed about the time children are spending glued to screens. The first week of May marks the annual Screen-Free Week, encouraging families to take a break from digital devices. Even small changes make a huge difference. Screen time is complicated because screens are used both to educate, entertain, and even soothe tantrums, but what happens when this becomes the norm and not the exception? According to child psychiatrists, the impact might go far deeper than a squabble over who gets the iPad next, the Independent reports. Rewiring the default setting in our brains Dr Samir Shah, consultant psychiatrist and medical director at Priory Hospital Altrincham, says screen time is doing more than filling quiet moments; to put it drastically, he says it could actually be reshaping the way children's brains grow and function. "Research has shown regular screen time and excessive screen time can change both the physical structure of the brain such as areas responsible for memory and planning, and how different parts of the brain communicate with each other," he explains. The constant stimulation of being online has the potential to rewire the routes brains use to think, learn and connect. Dr Shah likens this shift in "brain network connectivity" to closing a road and sending traffic on a detour. Eventually, that new route becomes the default, but it's not always the most efficient or healthy. He warns that heavy screen use has been linked to real cognitive struggles in children, including problems with attention, problem-solving and multitasking. Adding: 'It is similar to only exercising one muscle group, and other important mental muscles like focus, delayed gratification and self-control can weaken if they are not used enough.' The impact of constant stimulation on the brain's reward system Dopamine is a chemical in the brain that is released into our system when we do something enjoyable. The chemical is known as the brain's 'feel-good chemical.' 'Regular screen use triggers the release of dopamine, which is the brain's 'feel-good' chemical. This then creates a cycle of craving more screen time to get that same buzz or effect. It is a bit like checking the door repeatedly and hoping for an exciting visitor.' And once that cycle starts, it can make real-world experiences feel a bit, well, underwhelming. 'Over time, real-world and realistic activities can start to feel less rewarding by comparison. This is why children and teenagers who use screens regularly struggle to maintain or build meaningful social connections.' The impact on mental health There is also a mental health side to all of this. According to Dr Shah, research shows that children and teenagers who spend over four hours a day on screens are more likely to report heightened anxiety and low mood. The relentless digital stimulation may leave young people with high dopamine levels but an emotional void, leading to feelings of restlessness and dissatisfaction. He explains: 'Less face-to-face and direct interaction means fewer opportunities and chances to practise important social and executive skills like empathy and resolving conflicts.' Are children's brains more vulnerable? Dr Shah described children's brains as 'sponges,' ready to soak in everything at an incredible rate. Critical periods before age five and again in the preteen years are when the brain is most plastic and most shaped by repeated behaviours. Too much screen exposure during these windows could lead to longer-term consequences. You don't just have to take Dr Shah's word for this; MRI scans of children with high screen time have shown notable changes in the brain. These include thinner regions involved in decision-making, reduced grey matter in areas linked to language, and disrupted connectivity in the zones that manage focus and attention. Dr Shah has reiterated that whilst this doesn't constitute 'damage,' it is indicative of heavy screen use leading to brains adapting in different ways, he says specifically, 'It can be seen as altered adaptations and disruption.' There is a middle ground According to Dr Shah, balance is the way forward. Eliminating screen time altogether is not the way forward. That could mean setting daily limits, prioritising screen-free meals, or making time for digital detoxes in the evening. It's also worth noting that how screens are used is important—scrolling aimlessly on social media isn't the same as a video call with a loved one.
Yahoo
23-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Breaking the silence: 'It becomes such an obsession'
Apr. 23—With around-the-clock phone use, the noise never turns off Editor's note: This is the second in an ongoing series about youth mental health. The series will culminate with a Screen-Free Week for the whole community May 4-10. A survey conducted last fall of U.S. teens ages 13 to 17 by the Pew Research Center found that most teens use social media and nearly half said they are online almost constantly. This number is up from 24% a decade ago, though it has stayed consistent over the last few years. The social media use has gotten so concerning that the U.S. Surgeon General in 2023 issued an advisory about social media and youth mental health, which stated "while social media may have benefits for some children and adolescents, there are ample indicators that social media can also have a profound risk of harm to the mental health." The advisory stated that because adolescence is a vulnerable period of brain development, social media exposure during this period warrants additional scrutiny. YouTube topped the list of the online platforms asked about in the 2024 survey, with nine in 10 teens reporting using the site. Roughly six in 10 said they use TikTok and Instagram and 55% use Snapchat. The use of Facebook and X (formerly Twitter) has declined significantly in the past decade, with only 32% of teens saying they use Facebook and 17% saying they use X. The survey also found that when asked about access to the internet at home, 95% of the teens said they have access to a smartphone, while 88% said they have access to a desktop or laptop computer, 83% have access to a gaming console and 70% a tablet. That is right in line with what Albert Lea High School Principal Chris Dibble said he sees at his school. He estimated 95% of the students at the high school having cell phones and most of the time you can't walk around the building between classes and not see a phone in a student's hand. Dibble said when he started in the education field 28 years ago as a teacher at Alden-Conger Schools, he has always been a huge proponent of technology. He has helped outfit the schools he has been at over the years and was even a technology and integration specialist at one point, putting iPads into the hands of students. "I saw the benefits of technology when we were allowed to provide guidance on when they can be used," he said. But then the forward-facing cameras came out on cell phones in 2010, and it became more of a distraction, he said. He said while he is still a big proponent of technology and recognizes that it will still be a big part of education moving into the future, he noted it is important for students to know what appropriate use of technology looks like. Dibble said the software in cell phones has been built to condition its users, and with every notification the user receives, the user gets a rush. "That builds up in the body and in the brain to where you're almost expecting the next one," he said. When you're in the classroom, this means not being able to concentrate or be engaged in what you're learning because you're concentrating on what's happening on your phone in your pocket. And he said it has gotten to the point where youth don't have the ability to stop that reaction. "If there's a buzz or a ding, the brain is conditioned to check it ... It becomes such an obsession," Dibble said. Sarah Scherger, a pediatrician at Mayo Clinic Health System in Albert Lea and Austin, said cell phones are contributing to what she described as tremendous mental health concerns being seen at younger and younger ages, including depression and anxiety. While these diagnoses can sometimes be exacerbated by things happening in school, social media chronically being on can also play a factor. Whether it's texting or Snapchat, the youth are not able to get away from their friends — and those who aren't kids to them. The situation is made worse for these youth's mental health when they aren't able to get a good night's sleep. Scherger, who has been at the Mayo location for 13 years, said studies have shown that electronic devices are being given to children at younger and younger ages. As the mother of a middle schooler herself, who she says has a cell phone, she would advocate for children to not have phones in schools, or if possible, to only use them in communal areas in the halls. She recommended parents who have children with devices to make sure they have access to them and to regularly check them. She encouraged parents to guide their children in positive internet use and to encourage them to use their devices in communal areas in the home. "There's a lot of stuff that happens with kids on those social media apps behind the closed door in the home," she said. "As parents, we don't necessarily know." She said because the parents of youth were also not raised in the 24/7 era of the current world themselves, she recognized that oftentimes they are learning right along with their children. And as soon as they feel like they have a handle on one app, then the youth stop using that app and move on to another. Megan Wilson, detective with the Albert Lea Police Department, said more and more of their cases involving youth include evidence that started on cell phones. Whether it's fights among groups, or any other crime, many originated or were documented through messages, pictures or videos on phones. "Cell phones are very integrated into our investigations," she said. She said they get a large number of what she called "child sex abuse material" cases, which is essentially child pornography, in which teens are sending nude images or explicit videos to each other. Whether consensual or not, it is still a crime when under the age of 18. They also see teens meeting new friends online through different apps, and they have had cases where the youth believed they were meeting another juvenile and then when they went to meet up with that person, it was actually an adult pretending to be a child. There are also cases of sex extortion, in which a youth is convinced to send images of themselves and another individual tells them if they don't pay a certain amount of money or send more images that they'll leak the original picture they sent to social media or send it to their parents. Nationwide, she said there have been children who have harmed themselves because they don't know how to get out of those situations. She advised parents to refer to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children website, which has an area on its page dedicated to cyber security and resources for parents and internet safety. She, too, encouraged parents to have open access with their child or teen's phones, to take note of what the apps are on their phone and then to research those apps, as well as parental controls for them. She said she and School Resource Officer David Huse give presentations about internet safety at Southwest Middle School to help youth learn more as they are having more access to phones. Up next: What cell phone policies are in place in area schools? Is there legislation being considered to change cell phone use in schools? Read the first part in the series: Breaking the Silence: In today's society, many youth in the area are struggling
