According to a study by Yale School of Medicine, “Youth who spent the most time on their digital technology were statistically more likely to exhibit higher levels of internalizing problems two years later.” 

People spend too much time on devices, looking at screens. Screen time needs to decrease, because it is causing a variety of mental health problems.

Too much screen time can lead to mental health issues such as anxiety, depression, sleep disturbances, focus issues, behavioral problems, social isolation/loneliness, and addiction. 

According to the National Library of Medicine, “One study found that 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 one hour a day.” 

A four-hour decrease in screen time can significantly lower someone’s risk of thoughts or actions related to suicide.

According to Ohio State University, “In one study, children who used screens for seven hours a day were twice as likely to develop anxiety or depression than children who used screens for an hour or less a day.” 

Screens are deceiving because the negative effects aren’t seen immediately. As this study shows, they make children twice as likely to develop mental health problems later on. 

Understanding the negatives associated with excessive screen time has the potential to help people prevent or stop these issues. 

Justin Kei, M.D. at Hackensack University Medical Center says, “When people are looking at screens, they sometimes feel like they lose track of time. They don’t do the things that they want to be doing otherwise and don’t feel well after. They feel like they’ve lost control.” 

Spending time on screens wastes people’s time. When people waste their time instead of doing activities they enjoy or tasks they need to get done, it becomes a vicious cycle of avoiding the work that needs completion by opening an electronic device and staring at a screen. 

Then their work isn’t finished, and they haven’t done something they actually enjoy either.

Some people believe the main cause of mental health comes from the type of activity instead of the duration on screens. 

However, it is better to participate in learning and social engagement in person and face-to-face than with the use of an electronic device. 

According to communityminds.com, “When we engage face-to-face, our brains release the ‘bonding hormone’ – oxytocin. Touch, shared space, and eye contact enhance feelings of safety, empathy, and trust. These interactions trigger the release of dopamine and serotonin, the neurotransmitters that support happiness and regulate mood.” 

When people engage online instead of in person, they don’t receive the benefits from the release of neurotransmitters and hormones that come from face-to-face communication.

At Prior Lake High School, instead of looking their peers in the eyes and talking to one another, students stare at their phone screens and look at Instagram or Snapchat notifications from the same individuals they are standing directly next to.

The same applies to teachers and staff. On their break, they may eat alone in their rooms and scroll through their devices instead of getting up and talking to other teachers in the teachers’ lounge.

Similarly, a student might look for an answer on the internet, but they’re missing out on the connection with their teachers and peers by not asking them instead.

Too much screen time leads to mental health problems. The time people and teenagers in particular spend on electronics needs addressing so that the mental health problems associated with it are prevented and corrected.