Screens and Mental Health

Screens. When the word comes to mind, we think of smartphones, laptops, televisions, and a slew of devices that we need to persist in this world. 

With COVID, our dependence on screens has only increased. According to a study commissioned by Vivo, the average Indian spent almost 7 hours a day on smartphones alone in 2020. Think about it: apart from work or studies, our screens have become our primary source of entertainment and communication: be it through gaming, music, OTTs, social media, video chatting, or just plain-old phone calls. 

Screen time is notorious for being impossible to whittle down. Nevertheless, it is crucial to note the impact it has on our mental health. According to Psychiatric Times, at the very crux of it, mental health comes down to 4 things: nutrition, sleep, physical activity, and stress management. Screen time hinders all of the above to some degree. With all the time we spend on screens, it’s a miracle we get time to eat and sleep, let alone exercise. Moreover, social media reportedly induces FOMO and feelings of inadequacy, dissatisfaction, and isolation. In turn, these feelings affect our mood and may intensify symptoms of depression and anxiety.

All of these influence our sleep and bring stress. These are just some instances of how screens affect our mental health in an inestimable abyss. If you are just as alarmed by this as I am, worry not: I have a solution. Evaluate how you spend time on your screens to analyze the activities that you can forgo. Then, try to cut back on those activities in small increments. Voila! Observe the change in your mental health. As Benjamin Franklin once said, “In this world, nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.” Well, we can now add screens to this list!