We Americans are a well connected nation. In surveys, 74% of Americans own an internet connected smartphone, 55% own a tablet and 90% have a computer. With the many social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Snapchat, Twitter, and Linkedin, it is easy for us to remain connected and checking out our phones 24/7. There increasingly are concerns that smartphones are a major contributor to increasing anxiety in the young. In an article in the Los Angeles Times for June 9, 2019, it was reported that teachers, parents, and researchers say smartphones are contributing to student anxiety. The National Education Association newsletter labeled anxiety a “mental health tsunami”. Nearly 60% of parents worried about the influence of social media on their child’s physical and mental health according to the American Psychological Association’s 2017 survey of stress in America. Teachers noted that students are distracted by the incoming messages on smartphones and have done classroom exercises to tally how often this happens. In the LA Times article, one high school student received 150 Snapchat notifications in only one class hour. Jeffrey Cain (2018, American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education, Vol. 82, No. 7; It’s time to confront student mental health issues associated with smartphones and social media) reported that undergraduate students in percentages ranging from 40-67% noted that they felt things were hopeless, they felt very lonely, had overwhelming anxiety, and felt so depressed that it was difficult to function. So there is good cause for concern among parents.
Some have correlated the rise of smartphone use with increasing rises in depression and anxiety in the young. There are studies linking increased smartphone use with increased unhappiness. Why might this be? For the young, there are fears of missing out, lowered happiness and self esteem secondary to comparisons with the carefully crafted presentations on social media, and the increasing use of conflictual and threatening communications. Certainly there are other factors contributing to the increased reporting of stress, unhappiness, depression, and anxiety in the young. Some include students’ concerns about school and grades, relationships, family issues, economic pressures, among other societal, cultural and personal factors. This use of smartphones comes at the expense of more healthy alternatives such as proper sleep, exercise, nutrition, relationships, and hobbies. The issue has become of such concern that, as mentioned in the LA Times article, the American Academy of Pediatrics’ flagship journal recommended that doctors ask adolescents about their social media use along with more traditional questions about home life, drug use, and sexual activity.
One major concern of researchers has been about the extent to which tendencies toward addiction in smartphone use may resemble that of individuals using drugs. Neuroimaging studies have shown that internet addiction (including smartphone use) shows similar increases in activity in brain regions associated with substance related addictions. Ward and colleagues in a 2017 article have related that the presence of a smartphone reduces cognitive capacity by holding the user in an alert state which is tiring and adds to the psychological impact of the device. In a frequently reported study, Dr. Hyung Seo and colleagues reported in Science Daily in 2017 that there is an imbalance in the brain chemistry of young people addicted to smartphones and the internet. They studied a small sample of youth average age 15 years. Using standardized internet and smartphone addiction measures, they created two groups, an addicted group and a control. They used a neuroimaging technology to measure the level of a neurotransmitter (GABA) that slows down brain signals and is associated with anxiety as well as a second neurotransmitter (Glx), which causes neurons to become more electrically excited. Their findings were that the ratio of GABA to Glx was increased in the anterior cingulate cortex of smartphone addicted youth prior to cognitive behavior therapy. They noted that having too much GABA can result in drowsiness and anxiety. However, the GABA levels decreased or normalized after cognitive behavioral therapy.
So what can be done about this? In the LA Times article, it was noted that many school districts are bringing in yoga instructors and even comfort dogs to teach young children how to keep technology from increasing their anxiety. Teachers and parents attempt to have students turn off their devices and there is some movement to have children start smartphone use later (Wait until 8th movement), not earlier than 8th grade. In an article titled “Why smartphones can cause stress” by Dr. Samadi David from 2017, he offers several other recommendations:
Restrict being online to certain times of the day
Make it a rule to keep the phone on “sleep mode” and check it only one time per hour
Get rid of too many apps as they can lead to mindlessly checking the phone
Make an agreement with friends so that you will not check phones when together
Develop more positive habits apart from smartphone use - e.g. meditation, yoga, other forms of exercise
Of course, your child’s self esteem and self concept is critical in all this issue. Help them to learn that they are not in comparison with others on social media, that there are other forms of communication (such as spending time together in activities without smartphones), and that it is healthy to spend more time with eyes off the screen and on the world around them. For more information about stress management, please acquire our book (I Can’t Take It Anymore; How to Manage Stress so It Doesn’t Manage You; Paul G. Longobardi, Ph.D., and Janice B. Longobardi, R.N., B.S.N., P.H.N.), available on Amazon at https://www.amazon.com/dp/1542458056. For information about the book, authors, and other aspects of stress, please visit our website at www.manageyourhealthandstress.com.
Good luck on your journey.
Dr. Paul Longobardi
For information on these and related topics, please visit my website at www.successandmindset.com