Screenagers: How to Renew

Maggie Arave
Staff Writer
  Phones, internet, and Artificial intelligence are becoming more relevant each day. Columbia University's department of Psychiatry comments on the presence of the internet sharing their perspective on internet access.  It can be convenient to carry a device all the time; “omnipresence [of these devices] can lead to compulsive use and a sense of dependency.” This observation underscores the rising concern with internet dependency and influential media platforms.
  Students can be affected by internet access; many of the negative effects sprout from social media access. 43.2% of students who answered a school wide survey stated they spend 1-2 hours. The rise in the addiction to phones “changes networks in frontostriatal and frontocingulate circuits” (Korte). Teens of the present day are not finished developing their brains yet which leaves room for the undeveloped brain to lose the sense of self control. The brain adapts for impulses that lead to struggles when managing the use of social media and “addictive-like behaviors.” When studying the use of phones Columbia University’s Department of Psychiatry “finds correlation between heavy social media use and depression, anxiety, loneliness, and suicidal ideation.” Social media changes lives for worse when the young brain depends on temporary dopamine releases to feel happy enough to get through the day. 
  The benefits of social interaction via the internet are broad but human interaction is more important: “social media can provide spaces for connection, identity formation, solidarity, and social support” (Brownstein). Teens growing into adults have complex lives and balance is important. Dr. Ryan Sultan and the Mental Health Informatics Lab strongly support implementing guidelines around screen time for youth. Compromise of restriction and social life benefits the growing brain so that it can learn how to be social without dependency. Dr. Sultan states the benefits of restrictions are “to reduce exposure to the potentially harmful effects of excessive screen time, such as sleep disruption, increased anxiety, and depressive symptoms” (Brownstein). 15 students who replied to a survey at BHS used Dr. Sultan’s advice to separate themselves from technology: they shared that without the distraction they have time for unique and interactive experiences. The recreational activities include going outside, doing art projects, and leaving time for themselves. These students restrict their phone time and receive happier lives, more reflexive time and still enjoy the occasional doomscroll.
  A balance of social interaction and social media can benefit students at school, work, and in life. Finding the balance between socialization with peers and exploring digital platforms is difficult for many students but it is necessary to keep a healthy society.

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