In recent years, technology has become a crucial part of our everyday lives. One big consequence from technology use is the rise in screen time for all children.
A 2021 study showed that the average teen spent around 7 hours of their day on their screens. However, with the use of technology in classrooms, these numbers are bound to go up.
One of the down sides to excessive (over two hours a day) use of technology is the lack of sleep that students get due to being on their phones. The blue light in the phone screens restrains the amount of melatonin able to be made, which causes sleep cycles. Another downside is students’ mental health.
“I spend on average 3.5 hours on my phone a day. I think that more time spent on technology can lead to a decrease in mental health, but I think there is an amount that is healthy and useful,” said Cody Bullard, freshman.
The increase in screen time leads to negative effects on students’ mental health. Studies have shown that more screen time has led to depression, and anxiety, cyberbullying, harassment, and self-isolation.
The impact of 2 or more hour of recreational screen time on students can impact things like sleep, eye strain, poor social skills, and even addiction to their screens.
Many students at Leesville prefer to limit themselves as they think it is bad to have too much screen time.
“I spend on average about 4.5 hours a day on my phone on the weekends, and I think that it is a lot of time personally, so I try to limit myself,” said Taylor Marek, freshman.
While technology makes classrooms and learning much easier to access things like websites and other sources, the excessive use of technology everyday can be taxing on students without even realizing it.
Screen time can have negative effects on students’ health and well being, however, it can also be a valuable tool when used in the right quantity.
The use of screens opens students up to whole new opportunities of webquests, online information, videos, E-books and so much more, which can be extremely beneficial to students learning. The use of screens are very beneficial and help students learn more but at what cost?
The risks, however, far outweigh the positive effects because mental health should be the students number one priority.
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