The Effect of Screen Time on Your Health

     Screen time has always been a problem for this generation. Even before the pandemic, we were on screens a lot more than we should have been. Now, it is how we stay connected and do online school. If it is unsafe to go to a family dinner or school, we Zoom, Webex, or another video chat platform. If we can’t hand in assignments, we use Schoology. If we can’t talk to our friends, we text them. If we aren’t connected to the internet or we don’t have an electronic device, we are put at a disadvantage. Even though doing things online is safer than doing things in person, the screen time is not good for us.  

     Now that school is online, we look at a screen for a minimum of 7 hours a day. Then we have homework which we also do online, we text our friends, we look through social media, we watch some TV, and then the entire day has been spent on screens.  

     Looking at a screen for a long time can cause vision issues like computer vision syndrome. Computer vision syndrome causes headaches, dry eyes, strained eyes, and blurred vision. Another thing that can be caused by looking at a screen for too long is bad posture. Back, shoulder, and neck pain can also be caused by looking at a computer or phone for too long. But that is not all, a lot of screen time has been linked to poor sleep because of the blue light from the device. The blue light stops a sleep helping hormone called melatonin and it keeps us from having a good night’s sleep.  

     Your mental health can also be affected by too much screen time. Doing online school means that the new classrooms are things like Webex and Zoom. This immensely differs from in person learning. People are feeling cut off and they are not getting normal interactions with peers and teachers. People are also not wanting to unmute during discussions because of attention being drawn to themselves. Some are self-conscious about how they look on camera and do not want their image projected to their whole class when they speak. This leads to another problem, they turn off their camera, and then teachers do not get the feedback they need from their class.  

     Too much screen time is bad, and these days with online school, it is difficult to stay away from a screen. We can’t completely fix the problem if we need to be online, but we can help it by doing things like getting blue light blocking glasses, not doing unnecessary things on screens, and setting goals for screen time after school.