2023-12-24 07:53:12
It has been known for many years that intensive consumption of social networks and excess Internet access from cell phones have consequences on health and mental well-being.
Now, a recent study carried out among high school students by a team of educators and neuroscience researchers confirmed a new effect: the greater the consumption of networks, the greater the propensity for anhedonia: the phenomenon called the inability to experience pleasure and the loss of interest or satisfaction in all types of social and bonding activities. “We do research on neurosciences and education and we work with a network of secondary schools. And it occurred to us to investigate this issue of not achieving satisfaction in depth when, in hallway conversations, many teachers told us that, in the post-pandemic presence, teaching their classes normally cost them much more than before. This was, in part, because kids used their cell phones less intensively before 2020,” Alejo Barbuzza, a graduate in Biological Sciences, a Conicet scholarship recipient and specialized in neuroscience and education issues, told PERFIL. And he added: “Many surveys verified that this not only happened in adolescents but that cell phone use increased in all age ranges. That’s why we wanted to better understand the impact of smartphones and networks on the health and emotional well-being of children.”
Study. In order to understand the topic in depth, they took a group of 517 students between 15 and 17 years old, who attend secondary schools that make up the Itínere Network, and made them complete various questionnaires about uses and times they spend looking at the screen of their device. . And in addition, they were given various tests on symptoms of anxiety, depression, sleep quality and other data that could reveal the degree of social anhedonia.
“The conclusion was that more than half of the students surveyed (51.26%) had a significant anhedonia index, something that is a wake-up call,” Luis Combal, director of Northfield High School, told this media. , one of the institutions where the field work was done. And this teacher, with two decades of experience in education, noted: “Although the study was done with secondary school children, what we sense is that, in a way, this can also be expanded to adults.”
Among the hypotheses that experts are verifying, the following stands out: the amount of time that adolescents spend on social networks is modifying their ties.
Today they find gratification in “liking” a photo or being part of a Wapp group. All of this can cause greater difficulty feeling emotions or pleasure.
In addition, the educator highlighted other data. The “average” attention time they paid to the screen was five hours and twenty minutes a day. In other words, this implies that the cell phone takes over one and a half days of attention per week (35 hours per week).
Barbuzza recalled that these figures impressed even the users themselves: “It is just an anecdote but it is indicative: when we asked them to verify on their cell phone how many hours they ‘consumed’ screen time to record it, most were very surprised to see the total time. “every day they spent with their smartphone.”
On the other hand, one in three participants acknowledged being aware of having behaviors compatible with problematic consumption. For example, they knew that they carried it everywhere, all day long; They said that their parents had warned them about excessive use or they admitted to regularly suffering from neck or wrist pain from hunching over the screen. They even admitted that it was common to cut off any activity they might be carrying out to respond to an “on screen” notification.
The other striking indication that Combal highlighted was that in these groups they are accessing their own cell phone at 10 years of age, a ‘number’ that we see decreasing with the passage of time since the ‘delivery’ of the first laptop is coming forward.”
What apps do they “invest” screen time in? According to the survey accessed by PERFIL, the most used application was TikTok (50.67%); WhatsApp (22.16%); Instagram (14.26%); YouTube (5.39%) and others (7.51%).
What to do in the face of this reality? “There are possible interventions (see box) but we also have to be realistic,” Combal said. “Today, in our schools we propose as a strong idea that technology and computers are an essential part of our lives and we have to learn to use them correctly. That’s essential for kids. But we also think that a computer is not the same as a cell phone and it is not necessary for them to be accessing their smartphones all the time.”
Options and preventive tips
Professor Darío Álvarez Klar, educator and one of the founders of the Itínere Educational Network, said that “clearly prohibiting its use is not an option. But we do have to move towards controlled administration, achieve a voluntary reduction in use and
do a lot of prevention in emotional well-being. For example, we can encourage children to diversify their entertainment options, turning to sports, music and real interaction with friends.”
For their part, Combal and Barbuzza propose working on the prevention of these problems from primary school: “Inform them of the problems that their excessive use brings, so that they know that it can generate emotional complications. Also the arrival of the first team should be accompanied with talks, either from the family or through school workshops where they talk about grooming, rational use and risks of abuse.”
On the other hand, they highlight that it must be emphasized that bonds, empathy and connecting with others cannot be lost.
Finally, a practical tip: that at home no one eats with their cell phone on the table, since naturalizing that is detracting from the value of the connection.
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