Digital wellness for ourselves and our children is a recently researched area not often spoken about, yet the impact of overusing social media and technology is evident in all areas of our lives. Part 2 of this blog series delves deeper into the effects of technology on brain development and provides guidelines and practical tools to use technology wisely.

Technology and Interpersonal Skills

UCLA compared 51 school children who spent five days at an overnight nature camp without television, laptops, or smartphones to 54 school-based matched controls who followed their typical media routines (4 hours of screen time each day). After 5 days, participants were assessed for their ability to recognise emotions from photographs of facial expressions and videotaped scenes of social interactions (without verbal cues). Nature camp students who were prohibited from using screens displayed considerably greater identification of nonverbal, emotional and social cues than those who continued to use screens regularly. These findings imply that avoiding screen-based media and digital communication tools increases emotional and social intelligence.

Adolescence is a critical phase for brain development since brain regions involved in emotional and social elements experience significant changes. Social media may dramatically influence the teenage brain since it allows adolescents to communicate with numerous friends without physically meeting them. According to research, teenagers’ emotional processing is substantially influenced by the intensity of social media use. This has been confirmed by an increase in the amygdala’s ‘grey matter’ volume, which processes emotions (Korte, 2020). The grey matter is where sensation, perception, voluntary movement, learning, speech, and cognition are processed. Actual social encounters in online social networks are essential for brain development. Teenagers, in particular, may be sensitive to fake or upsetting news, unrealistic self-expectations, or struggle with emotional regulation due to social media usage.

Violent video games, unsurprisingly, have a significant impact on human behaviour. Exposure to violent video games is a significant risk factor for increased aggressive conduct, a loss of empathy, and lower levels of prosocial behaviour. On the other hand, game-based training programs have been demonstrated to increase cognition and attention span in the elderly.

The more social media we have, the more we think we’re connecting, yet we are really disconnecting from each other. J R

The Reality of Digital Addiction

The World Health Organization (WHO) has now added internet use disorder (IUD) or internet gaming disorder/internet addiction (IGD) to the International Classification of Diseases 11th Revision, which may include “smartphone-use disorder” as a behavioural addiction in the future. Addiction is when you have a strong physical or psychological need or urge to do or use something. It also involves a lack of control over particular behaviours or substance use. It is frequently coupled with unpleasant emotions such as anxiety, irritation, dysphoria, being preoccupied, mood changes, withdrawal, and functional impairment (Small, 2020). Contrary to popular belief, social media usage is related to social isolation (a lack of social connections and quality interactions with others), which is connected to poor health outcomes and higher mortality.

When Primack and colleagues examined 1787 young individuals (ages 19 to 32 years), they discovered that using social media for two or more hours per day quadrupled the likelihood of feeling socially isolated compared to using it for less than 30 minutes daily. Less online social interactions enhance the ability to create meaningful relationships, promote sound social judgements, and allow you to sensibly analyse social media content, as social media often leads to unrealistic expectations of oneself and is a significant contributor to loneliness and unrealistic expectations. Similar results were found in middle-aged and older persons (Small, 2020).

Daily touch-screen use among infants and toddlers has been shown to negatively impact sleep onset, duration, and waking up from nightmares. Increased smartphone and touch screens are associated with greater sleep disturbances, poor sleep quality, and increased interrupted sleep. Poor sleep quality is linked to brain changes such as reduced functional connectivity and an increased risk of age-associated cognitive impairment and Alzheimer’s disease (Small, 2020). Sleep deprivation can have a significant impact on cognition and behaviour.

Promoting Brain Health Through Digital Technology

Previous studies suggested that mentally challenging tasks like searching online may benefit brain health and even delay cognitive decline. A brain neural activity study of 24 cognitively normal middle-aged and older persons (ages 55 to 76) was conducted where 12 had no online search experience (net-naive group), and 12 had substantial experience (net-savvy group). They participated in constructive reading material land internet research activities. Net-savvy people showed considerable brain signal intensity activity in areas such as decision-making and sophisticated thinking. During the internet search task, the net-savvy group had more than twice the amount of activation than the net-naive group. The research concludes that mentally challenging tasks like searching online and engaging in brain-stimulating activities may benefit brain health and even delay cognitive decline.

Benefits of Building a Digital Brain

Despite the potential negative effects of digital technology on brain health, emerging evidence points to several benefits for the aging brain, including opportunities for brain-strengthening neural exercise, cognitive training, and the online delivery of mental health interventions and support. Our minds are astonishingly strong and can obtain an enormous amount of information. In reality, the average adult human brain has the capacity to store 2.5 million terabytes of digital memory. Nonetheless, feeling overwhelmed and falling short of your objectives is simple. As a result, it is critical to construct a second brain, or “digital brain,” utilising digital tools. Intellectually demanding activities, such as internet searching, researching and playing brain-stimulating video games, may boost brain function and potentially prevent cognitive decline. Working memory and fluid intelligence are fundamental aspects of brain stimulation.

It is not what technology does to us, it is what we do to technology. Get smart with technology, choose wisely, and use it to benefit you and those around you. 

When is it too much?

“Fluid intelligence involves the ability to reason and think flexibly, whereas crystallised intelligence refers to the accumulation of knowledge, facts, and skills that are acquired throughout life” (Cherry, 2022). When challenged with a new problem that cannot be solved with your existing knowledge, you must rely on fluid intelligence to solve it. According to research, working memory training through digital technologies may boost fluid intelligence.

Improving fluid intelligence through digital technology may include educational games, problem-solving challenges, research-based activities, reading and learning new skills. Specific programs, video games, and other online tools may provide mental exercises that activate neural circuitry, improve cognitive functioning, reduce anxiety, increase restful sleep, and offer other brain-health benefits.

Screen-time Guidelines

These recommendations result from systematic data assessments on the impacts of physical activity, sleep, and sedentary time (including screen time) on children’s development, health, and well-being (Joshi, 2021). Too much screen time can have detrimental effects on children’s memory, attention, communication, and social and language skills. Below is the recommended screen time according to the Australian Institute of Family Studies

Age 0-2 – No screen time at all

Age 2-5 – No more than one hour per day

Age 5-17 – No more than two hours per day (excluding school work)

Children are great imitators. So give them something great to imitate. 

Reconnecting

Limit social media to 30-60 minutes per day for better mental health – A study concluded that if young people reduced their social media usage by 30 minutes a day on each platform for 3 weeks, their symptoms of depression and loneliness would decrease.

No screen time for 3-4 hours per day – According to extensive research, screen time affects children’s language skills and is correlated with potential behaviour problems. No Screen time one hour before bedtime for better sleep – using a screen within an hour of bedtime makes it harder to fall asleep and negatively affects both sleep quality and duration.

Take a break every 20 minutes for eye health – Excessive screen use can damage your eyes. Many adults today suffer from digital eye strain, a disease produced by focusing on close things for too long, such as phone screens, which can cause eye fatigue, pain, and blurred vision.

Set even lower limits for yourself if you’re a parent – Live by example by showing what is acceptable. Adults who limit their own screen time are more likely to limit their children’s screen time.

Six Tips For Limiting Your Children’s Screentime

• Be accountable. 

Set expectations with your kids, and create goals to reduce screen time intentionally. Many devices have features to set time limits for use.

• Be realistic. 

If your children spend much of their free time on devices, including TV, begin by setting smaller, more reachable goals. Instead of immediately transitioning to the suggested one to two hours or fewer per day, decrease the current screen time in half.

• Be engaged. 

Spend quality time with your children after school or work, talk face-to-face with each other and give them your full and undivided attention. Enjoy colouring in, playing play dough, playing a board game, using conversation starters, etc. Get creative.

• Put hand-held devices away. 

Put devices away in a specific area where it is out of sight so it’s not distracting to anyone.

• Create phone-free zones in the home. 

Making family meal areas a phone-free zone is an easy way to start.

• Go outside. 

Putting down the phone and going for a walk or playing outside boosts endorphins and delivers that happy feeling in your brain, enhancing your mood and physical health.

Creating new healthy habits using social media and technology is possible and worthwhile. However, professional support and help may be necessary when digital addiction is prevalent. Restoration Counselling is passionate about helping children, adolescents, and families be given more tools to manage social media use and technology, promoting healthy development and connected families.

References

Cherry, K. (2022, November 11). Fluid vs. Crystallized Intelligence. Retrieved from Very Well Mind: https://www.verywellmind.com/fluid-intelligence-vs-crystallized-intelligence-2795004

Guzman, J. d. (2023, march 15). Social Media Statistics for Australia. Retrieved from Meltwater: https://www.meltwater.com/en/blog/social-media-statistics-australia

Joshi, A. (2021, August ). Retrieved from Australian Institute of Family Studies: https://aifs.gov.au/resources/short-articles/too-much-time-screens

Korte, M. (2020, June 22). The impact of the digital revolution. Retrieved from Dialogues in Clinical Neuroscience: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7366944/

Small, G. W. (2020, June 22). Retrieved from Dialogues in Clinical Neuroscience: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7366948/