Americans Spend Nearly Half Their Waking Hours Looking At Screens

hawki · Aug 12, 2019

"Study Blames Disturbing Rise In Teens Who Need Glasses On Excessive Screen Time

According to the report released by United Kingdom-based eye care company Scrivens Opticians, the percentage of 13-16 year olds in the U.K. who need glasses has nearly doubled over the past seven years — from 20% in 2012 to 35% in 2018. Two-thirds of those teens were diagnosed as being myopic, or short-sighted.

Researchers theorize that this significant increase in eye problems among young people is likely linked to excessive time spent staring at screens, which can lead to eye strain, shortsightedness, and blurred vision. In fact, the study also found that the average 13-16 year old spends around 26 hours per week staring at a smartphone, playing video games, or watching TV..."

https://www.studyfinds.org/study-bl...ns-who-need-glasses-on-excessive-screen-time/

guest · Aug 17, 2019

Seven in 10 can’t stand to be without their phone, poll claims
On average, respondents spent almost three-and-a-half hours on their mobile every day
August 16, 2019
https://www.independent.co.uk/life-...ant-screen-time-survey-aomobile-a9062421.html

Seven in 10 people “can’t bear to be away” from their mobile phones, according to a new poll.
Two in five participants said they had risked injury by checking their phone while out walking or running.

The survey, which asked 2,000 smartphone owners about their habits, found almost 60 per cent said they felt “too reliant” on their mobile phones. Three in 10 said they routinely checked their mobile as soon as they wake up.
As a result, the average adult will burn through nine gigabytes of data each month.

“As their usage has become more widespread so has their functionality, and our hunger for more data to feed this functionality has only increased," said Richard Baxendale, managing director at AO-Mobile which commissioned the survey.
Click to expand...

guest · Aug 25, 2019

Time spent on smartphones isn’t damaging teens’ mental health, study shows
August 25, 2019
https://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/teen-mental-health-technology/

In the last decade, many commentators have expressed concern over how much time we spend using technology and its effects on mental health.

A new study from the University of California, Irvine, investigated this issue by tracking how much time teens spent on their phones and seeing if this was linked to worse mental health outcomes. And spoiler alert: The researchers didn’t find a link between technology use and mental health.

“Contrary to the common belief that smartphones and social media are damaging adolescents’ mental health, we don’t see much support for the idea that time spent on phones and online is associated with increased risk for mental health problems,” lead author Michaeline Jensen, assistant professor of psychology at the University of North Carolina, said in a statement.
Instead, the researchers suggest that to improve teens’ mental health, we should focus on their overall quality of life. “It may be time for adults to stop arguing over whether smartphones and social media are good or bad for teens’ mental health and start figuring out ways to best support them in both their offline and online lives,” Candice Odgers, professor of psychological science at the University of California, Irvine, said.
Click to expand...

guest · Sep 1, 2019

Dutch teens concerned about too much screen time
August 30, 2019
https://nltimes.nl/2019/08/30/dutch-teens-concerned-much-screen-time

Both Dutch teenagers themselves and their parents are concerned and critical about the amount of time teenagers spend on their phone, tablet or computer, according to a study by I&O Research. About 70 percent of teenagers said they wanted to spend more time outside, NU.nl reports

The researchers spoke to 569 young people between the ages of 10 and 22, and their parents. Excluding for homework, the kids and teens have an average of 3 hours and 20 minutes screen time per day. Young people of 18 and 19 years old spend even more time behind a screen - an average of around 4 hours a day. All of the respondents agreed that 2.5 hours a day is the "right" amount of screen time.
Over half of the respondents believed that screen time leads to sleeping problems. Almost half raised concerns about eye- and concentration problems. And exactly half said screen time causes shoulder and back problems.
Click to expand...

guest · Sep 11, 2019

Children spend equivalent of 61 days a year online – report
September 10, 2019
https://www.techcentral.ie/children...61-days-a-year-online-finds-cybersafeireland/

Approximately 12% of eight-year-olds spend more than four hours online each day, is equivalent to spending 61 days a year. This is according to the latest anual report from CyberSafeIreland’s latest annual report.

As 92% of children own a smart device, most can connect to the internet and be active online. Children with their own devices are more likely to be signed up to social media or messaging apps than those without (67% versus 24%).
Social media
The report – which was based on a poll of 3,800 children aged between eight and 13 – found that 60% of children had some kind of social media presence, including 48% of eight-year olds and 68% of 11-year-olds.

“While technology undoubtedly brings social and educational benefits, it is vital that screen time is monitored and that it is balanced appropriately with all the other aspects that contribute to a healthy lifestyle,” said Philip Arneill, head of education & innovation, CyberSafeIreland.
Click to expand...

guest · Sep 12, 2019

Teens are anxious and depressed after three hours a day on social media
September 11, 2019
https://www.technologyreview.com/f/...ssed-after-three-hours-a-day-on-social-media/

A study published today in the journal JAMA Psychiatry suggests that teenagers who spend more than three hours a day on social media are more likely to develop mental health problems including depression, anxiety, aggression, and antisocial behavior.

The study: Nearly 6,600 12- to 15-year-old Americans self-reported how much time they spent per day on social media, as well as whether they had any mental health problems. The researchers found that three hours of social media correlated with higher rates of mental health issues, even after adjusting for a history of such problems.
How teens absorb social media: The effects of social-media consumption on teens manifest in two main ways, according to the study’s authors: internally (depression and anxiety, for example) and externally (aggressive behavior or antisocial behavior). The latter were essentially nonexistent among teens who reported that they didn’t use social media.
Click to expand...

guest · Sep 15, 2019

I Won’t Buy My Teenagers Smartphones
Denying a teen a smartphone in 2019 is a tough decision, and one that requires an organized and impenetrable defense
September 14, 2019
https://www.nextgov.com/ideas/2019/09/i-wont-buy-my-teenagers-smartphones/159805/

What sets them apart from most of their friends is that neither of them owns a portable device connected to the internet that can be hidden in the depths of their baggy Under Armour shorts.
[...] it occurs to me that this decision not to buy him the one thing that every other kid has might be the most subversive, countercultural gesture of my entire life.
I believe that a smartphone too accessible, given too early, and in the wrong hands is at best an addictive distraction and at worst a handheld siphon draining away children’s youth one beep, one swipe, one notification at a time.

In The Atlantic, Jean M. Twenge discussed her 25-year study of generational differences in the United States. She found that how today’s teenagers spend their time is immensely different from how every preceding generation of teens back to the Baby Boomers spent theirs, and all evidence of cause points to the emergence of the smartphone and the birth of social media. Teenagers today are more likely to be at home, connected to the world via Wi-Fi. Yet at the same time, they are more likely to feel isolated and unhappy.

If you are a parent who’s struggling to hold strong against the inexorable pull of the smartphone, I’m here to tell you that it’s possible.
Click to expand...

guest · Sep 19, 2019

#18: "Horns are growing on young people’s skulls. Phone use is to blame, research suggests...
#19: Will children really grow horns from too much phone use?
Click to expand...

Turns out smartphones aren't making millennials grow horns after all
Science journal corrects widely-mocked study
September 19, 2019
https://www.engadget.com/2019/09/19/science-journal-corrects-horns-study/

The article was widely panned for its scientific inaccuracies, and now the journal Scientific Reports has published a correction to the article, in an unusual and embarrassing move for both the authors and the journal editors.

The authors had to correct significant chunks of the paper, including materials from the abstract, discussion, methodology, results and competing interest statement.
In the abstract, all mention of smartphones and tablets was taken out, and language was modified to relay the speculative nature of the information.

Other changes including making it clear that there was no evidence for a casual link between 'horn' formation and use of screen devices, correcting wrongly labelled figures, and admitting that the data for the study came from a clinical database and not from a recruited study group.
Click to expand...

hawki · Nov 6, 2019

"Kids can only play games for 90 minutes a day in China...

Under a new law, gamers under 18 years old are banned from playing games for more than 90 minutes each day. On holidays, the government will cut you some slack and let you play for a whopping three hours.

On top of that, the time spent gaming has to be between 8am and 10pm, because companies are now forbidden from allowing underage kids to play games overnight...

There’s even more bad news for kids who love decking out their characters with clothing and weapons purchased in games. China has new limits on how much underage players can spend, and companies can no longer offer paid services to users under 8 years old. Players between 8 and 16 can spend up to 200 yuan (US$2 per month, while that limit goes up to 400 yuan (US$57) for people between 16 and 18..."

https://www.scmp.com/tech/apps-social/article/3036471/kids-can-only-play-games-90-minutes-day-china

guest · Dec 3, 2019

Doctors Reveal 23% Of Children Affected By New Psychotic Disorder – Problematic Smartphone Usage
December 2, 2019
https://www.ibtimes.com/doctors-rev...hotic-disorder-problematic-smartphone-2876423

Problematic smartphone usage has become a huge problem in society. It has now reached the point of being branded as a psychiatric disorder. Worse, 23% of kids are affected.

The moment they get hooked in using their phones, there seems nothing better to do. At times, they couldn’t just “live” without their smartphones.
Such behavior towards smartphones is alarming, and doctors call it problematic smartphone usage (PSU). King’s College London researchers analyzed 40 studies involving the use of smartphones, from the time that smartphones became popular up to the present.

From the studies that they analyzed, which covered more than 40,000 individuals, including both children and young adults, they found behaviors that were similar to that of an addiction. Some of the smartphone-related behaviors that they pointed out included having difficulty in controlling the time that they spend on the phone.
Click to expand...

SouthPark · Dec 4, 2019

Should You Be Worried About Blue Light? The American Academy of Ophthalmology

https://www.aao.org/eye-health/tips-prevention/should-you-be-worried-about-blue-light

"When you stare at a screen for hours at a time, whether it is a computer, TV, phone or tablet, you are exposed to blue light from the device. But there is no scientific evidence that blue light from digital devices causes damage to your eye."

Eye strain and sleep disturbances can occur, but screens aren't causing permanent damage.

Hadron · Dec 4, 2019

Is that all?
Does that include all the phone zombies?
How would they count them all?

guest · Dec 4, 2019

Screen time exploding worryingly for children under 3. What can parents do?
December 3, 2019
https://www.bitdefender.com/box/blog/family/screen-time-exploding-worryingly-children-3-can-parents/

Screen time of American and Canadian infants, toddlers and preschoolers has increased over the last decade, with severe effects on their development, according to two new studies published this month in JAMA Pediatrics.

The American Academy of Pediatrics and the World Health Organization recommend no screens for babies under 18 months and a maximum of one hour for children between 18 months and 5 years of age, preferably spent on high-quality programs and under supervision by caregivers. The principle “less is better” applies to all children using television, computers and mobile devices, as play and physical activities are preferable.

Another study, the first to analyze connections between screen time and children’s development, shows that children who exceeded the recommended screen time had lower levels of development in the brain’s white matter — an area key to the development of language, literacy and cognitive skills.
Click to expand...

What can parents do?
The American Academy of Pediatrics provides a new set of recommendations and resources to help parents make the best decisions and find a balance of online/ offline life [...]
The AAP has also published an interactive tool that helps families create a personalized media use plan.
Click to expand...

guest · Jan 4, 2020

Chinese mobile users now spend over 6 hours every day online – that’s almost 2 full days a week
...the time users are spending on their devices continues to climb
January 3, 2020
https://www.scmp.com/tech/apps-soci...now-spend-over-6-hours-every-day-online-thats

Chinese mobile users may be spending almost twice as much time as the average adult in the US online on their devices, research suggests.

From the beginning of 2019 to the end of last November, each user spent an average of 6.2 hours of day – or 1.8 full days a week – online on mobile devices, 11.3 per cent more than the same period last year, according to a report published by research firm QuestMobile on Thursday.
A separate report by research firm eMarketer in May last year estimated that the average US adult would spend three hours and 43 minutes on mobile devices a day in 2019.

Online mobile engagement in the country shows no sign of slowing, however. This is mainly driven by the proliferation of smart devices, the digitisation of the offline retail industry as well as the popularity of live streaming and its integration with social, shopping, music and video platforms, the report said.
Click to expand...

guest · Jan 20, 2020

Screen time: Conclusions about the effects of digital media are often incomplete, irrelevant or wrong
January 15, 2020
https://theconversation.com/screen-...e-often-incomplete-irrelevant-or-wrong-129960

There’s a lot of talk about digital media. Increasing screen time has created worries about media’s impacts on democracy, addiction, depression, relationships, learning, health, privacy and much more. The effects are frequently assumed to be huge, even apocalyptic.
Moving beyond ‘screen time’
Has the power of media over modern life been overstated? Probably not, but no one knows, because there is a severe lack of knowledge about what people are actually seeing and doing on their screens.
And, because it is so easy to create customized personal threads of experiences, each person ends up viewing very different material at different times. No two people share the same media experiences.

To determine the effects of media on people’s lives, whether beneficial or harmful, requires knowledge of what people are actually seeing and doing on those screens. But researchers often mistakenly depend on a rather blunt metric – screen time.
Click to expand...

A media solution based only on screen time is like medical advice to someone taking multiple prescription medications to reduce their total number of pills by half. Which medications and when?
Click to expand...

guest · Jan 21, 2020

Indians spent over 3.5 hours on their smartphones every day in 2019
January 21, 2020
https://qz.com/india/1788332/indians-spent-more-time-on-their-phones-than-uk-us-japan/

These devices are the last thing 80% of users in the country see before they sleep. Switching their phones off makes them feel bored, sad, and disconnected. No wonder, then, they are always glued.

“Mobile-ﬁrst emerging markets like Indonesia, Brazil, and India continue to spend the most time in mobile each day,” App Annie’s State of Mobile 2020 report, released on Jan. 16, said.
Unlike other emerging markets, Indians’ daily hours spent on smartphones (3 hours and 30 minutes) is still below the weighted global average of 3 hours and 40 minutes. However, this still trumps mature markets like Japan, the US, and the UK.

Moreover, India’s mobile usage soared 25% between 2017 and 2019, second only to China’s 60%.
Click to expand...

guest · Feb 19, 2020

Smartphone addiction may shrink key areas of your brain in a similar way to drugs
February 19, 2020
https://www.insider.com/smartphone-addiction-may-shrink-areas-of-brain-like-drug-addiction-2020-2

Being glued to your iPhone and feeling naked without it is a lot more socially acceptable than experiencing the same pull to cocaine, but new research suggests addiction to both devices and substances have a similarly detrimental effect on key parts of the brain.

The study, out of several universities and research centers in Europe, compared 22 18- to 30-year-olds who met criteria for smartphone addiction to 26 people who did not.
The findings, the researchers say, is the first to suggest being too attached to your phone doesn't simply manifest in how you act, but it also physically alters your brain.
But the research is clear that "excessive and psychosocially dysfunctional smartphone use" — [...] can look a lot like other types of addiction, and have serious negative physical and mental health consequences.
Click to expand...

"I always say to people, when you're giving your kid a tablet or a phone, you're really giving them a bottle of wine or a gram of coke," Harley Street rehab clinic specialist Mandy Saligari said at a 2017 education conference in London following news that kids as young as 12 are seeking rehab for their device use.
"Why," she asked, "do we pay so much less attention to those things than we do to drugs and alcohol when they work on the same brain impulses?"
Click to expand...

guest · Jul 19, 2020

With Kids Spending More Waking Hours on Screens than Ever, Here's What Parents Need to Worry About
July 18, 2020
https://www.nextgov.com/ideas/2020/...r-heres-what-parents-need-worry-about/166915/

Millions of working parents have spent months largely trapped in their homes with their children. Many are trying to get their jobs done remotely in the constant presence of their kids, and they are desperate for some peace and quiet.
One survey of more than 3,000 parents found that screen time for their kids had increased by 500% during the pandemic.
Prone to Distraction
Should parents worry if their children are spending more time than ever online to learn, play and while away the hours until they can freely study and socialize again? The short answer is no – as long as they don’t allow pandemic screen time habits to morph into permanent screen time habits.
Click to expand...

hawki · Dec 26, 2020

"Average person will spend 44 YEARS looking at digital devices — and that’s before COVID!

A survey finds the average American will spend the equivalent of 44 years looking at some kind of digital screen. Researchers say this number has only increased since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic.

The OnePoll survey of 2,000 adults, commissioned by Vision Direct, looked at the average amount of time spent on various devices throughout each day. The results reveal the typical American spends four hours and 30 minutes watching TV, four hours and 33 minutes looking at a smartphone, over three hours using a gaming device, and nearly five hours on a laptop.

All together, Americans are spending a whopping 17 hours and nine minutes looking at digital devices each day, according to the study..."

https://www.studyfinds.org/screen-zombies-average-person-spends-44-years-looking-at-devices/

hawki · Apr 18, 2022

"30-stone gorilla 'addicted to smartphones' must cut down on screentime, warn zookeepers...

A 30-stone gorilla in Chicago's Lincoln Park zoo is so addicted to smartphones that he didn't even notice another gorilla attacking him.

Zoo keepers have been forced to employ measures that stop people showing their iPhones to Amare the eastern lowland gorilla, as he is apparently fixated on taking selfies and watching YouTube videos..."

https://www.dailystar.co.uk/tech/news/30-stone-gorilla-addicted-smartphones-26735883

hawki · May 14, 2023

"Not having cellphone allowed US boy to save runaway bus from crashing

While other students on the bus were engrossed with their devices, Dillon Reeves noticed the driver in distress and guided bus to safety...

(Guardian UK) A Michigan boy who recently stopped a school bus from crashing after the driver lost consciousness leapt into action because he was the only passenger not distracted by an electronic device, according to a new report from CBS...

'I had my AirPods in,' said one student...A second student added: 'I was looking on my phone.'
And yet another student said: 'I was on my phone playing a little game.'

In a video that was captured by a bus security camera before it went viral, Dillon can be seen rushing up to the steering wheel after noticing that the driver had passed out during a medical emergency. Dillon stepped on the brakes, steered the bus away from traffic and eventually brought it to a stop as other students yelled in a panic from their seats..."

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/may/14/michigan-boy-saved-school-bus-no-cellphone

Rmus · May 15, 2023

"Americans Spend Nearly Half Their Waking Hours Looking At Screens"

Wow! I spend about 2 - 3 hours a day, mostly on news sites for my news, and emails, and searching for information.

(Additional time when working on photographs in Photoshop a few times a week. Or situations like recently, finding information about AV and Windows here at Wilders.)

But I don't have a smart phone, or peruse social media.

(Actually, I think my flip phone is quite smart: I press an assigned number and it automatically dials out. Pretty smart!)

I'm fortunate that I never needed a smart phone for my work (teacher), so I avoided that route.

And happy that my job didn't have me in front of a computer screen for hours a day.

I was aware many years ago that the internet and social media are quite addictive, thus, I'm happy to not have had that temptation.

So what I've read here is quite startling.

-rich

aztony · May 29, 2023

https://i.pcmag.com/imagery/articles/00mWOQ2npwG5OeE71vslOXD-3.fit_lim.size_985x.png
Click to expand...

Several other countries have the US beat.
https://www.pcmag.com/news/which-countries-spend-the-most-waking-hours-in-front-of-screens

hawki · Oct 2, 2023

UK To Announce Cellphone Ban In Schools

"Mobile phones are to be banned in schools as education secretary Gillian Keegan is set to announce a dramatic intervention - to the relief of millions of parents and teachers..."

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/ar...vention-relief-millions-parents-teachers.html

xxJackxx · Oct 2, 2023

hawki said: ↑

Mobile phones are to be banned in schools as education secretary Gillian Keegan is set to announce a dramatic intervention - to the relief of millions of parents and teachers...
Click to expand...

Good idea. I'm surprised they were ever allowed. When I was in school they wouldn't let us have any kind of device. And we had nothing like smart phones.

Log in or Sign up

Americans Spend Nearly Half Their Waking Hours Looking At Screens

hawki Registered Member

guest Guest

guest Guest

guest Guest

guest Guest

guest Guest

guest Guest

guest Guest

hawki Registered Member

guest Guest

SouthPark Registered Member

Hadron Registered Member

guest Guest

guest Guest

guest Guest

guest Guest

guest Guest

guest Guest

hawki Registered Member

hawki Registered Member

hawki Registered Member

Rmus Exploit Analyst

aztony Registered Member

hawki Registered Member

xxJackxx Registered Member

Log in or Sign up

Americans Spend Nearly Half Their Waking Hours Looking At Screens

hawki Registered Member

guest Guest

guest Guest

guest Guest

guest Guest

guest Guest

guest Guest

guest Guest

hawki Registered Member

guest Guest

SouthPark Registered Member

Hadron Registered Member

guest Guest

guest Guest

guest Guest

guest Guest

guest Guest

guest Guest

hawki Registered Member

hawki Registered Member

hawki Registered Member

Rmus Exploit Analyst

aztony Registered Member

hawki Registered Member

xxJackxx Registered Member

Useful Searches