Screen Time and Mood: How Electronic Gadgets Impact Your Emotions and Ways to Improve It

Electronic gadgets have become the new ‘oxygen’. People just can’t survive without them. For many, the morning begins with Facebook, Instagram or WhatsApp and ends with the same. Some are addicted to violent video games and some can’t help binge-watching. The entire world is caged behind the screens.

And this is the modern epidemic.

Emerging research and studies highlight how electronic gadgets impact your mood!

From increasing aggression to a surge in depression, gadgets are to blame. 

Children are suffering from ADHD due to increased screen time. Teenagers too are struggling with behaviour issues. They are suffering from fear of missing out and undue peer pressure. Adults aren’t spared either! 

We are a generation empowered by technology but impaired mentally!

Electronic gadgets are a powerful tool. They can make or break you depending on how you use it. The gadgets have made life easy in every way. But it has also wrecked marriages, damaged memories and destroyed careers. 

Here are a few real-life scenarios which show how electronic gadgets impact your mood.

Also Read: A practical action plan for a Digital detox

5 ways Electronic gadgets impact your mood

Electronic Gadgets Impact your Sleep 

The first thing affected by the stimulation of electronic gadgets is your sleep. 

Particularly the use of electronic gadgets before bedtime.

It emits the harmful blue light that stimulates the brain. Electronic gadgets impact the rhythms of melatonin secretion. This reduced melatonin makes it harder to fall and stay asleep.

Many activities on gadgets can stimulate the fight or flight response. Say for Video games or disturbing news. And not to mention the ‘lost in time’ addiction. This impacts the quality and quantity of your sleep. 

Many studies deem gadgets to be the cause of insomnia. 

Also Read: 10 amazing Ayurvedic tips to fall asleep fast

It cages you in social isolation

Mobile phones and tablets have made this generation distantly connected.

We are connected to someone from another side of the globe but don’t know the person sitting right next. This has resulted in reduced family interactions and meaningful conversations. 

Even family gatherings are more about photo sessions and less about interactions. This has created a huge void in people’s need for social interaction. They are missing the goodness of touch, hugs and smiles. 

These social interactions release the happy hormones ‘oxytocin’. And lack of these emotional interactions results in physical and mental consequences. Skin hunger can cause higher stress, weakened immune, and poor sleep.

Also Read: How to survive social isolation in the time of coronavirus? 

Electronic gadgets cause depression

Do you know there is a sharp rise in the issues of mental health?

And what else is rising? The exposure to electronic media, of course.

Gadgets are messing up with your mind. 

Check out these results from a survey that observed patterns of change. 

• The number of contemplated suicides among teens increased by several folds.
• The number of teens diagnosed with clinical depression went up by 37 per cent. 
• Deaths by suicide among teens surged drastically. 

As I already said, technology has impaired our sleep and resulted in social isolation. These are directly linked to an increase in depression. Emerging research also links anxiety, depression and suicide to the use of gadgets. 

Increased screen time is a big factor affecting children’s mental health. Studies say that children who use gadgets for more than 2 hours per day have an increased risk of depression. 

Also Read: Ayurvedic treatment for depression

Increased screen time and ADHD

It’s not just the adults and teens, kids too are suffering from the gadget mania.

Be it watching a cartoon or playing some fun games, kids are crazy about gadgets. And it’s also an easy bargain for parents to manage unruly kids. It keeps them from danger. That’s what most parents think!

But the reality is scary. 

Studies say increased screen time in kids is linked to a higher risk of ADHD in pre-schoolers. Excessive exposure to the screen damages their brain development. It slows language development, creative thinking and social skills. 

It reduces their attention span and concentration. Being hooked to the screen also keeps them away from physical activities. This impairs the physical and mental development of the kid.

Overuse of gadgets is also linked to an increased risk of depression. 

Also Read: Giving your mobile phone to your kid is the worst idea ever

Violent video games can turn kids into psychopaths

PUBG mania is a real deal. 

It has around 200 million downloads and about 30 million people play this game daily.

This game is so addictive that it has destroyed the lives of many kids and adults worldwide. 

Parents of an 18-year-old reported aggressive behaviour and high irritability in their son. This was after he started playing PUBG continuous for more than 7 hours. He gets irritated at being called for lunch or dinner and yells at his parents. The boy does not want to socialize anymore and is often irked. 

Another 18-year-old hanged himself to death after having an argument over buying a new smartphone worth Rs. 37000. He wanted the phone to play PUBG. But his parents got him a phone worth Rs. 20000. And this triggered him to take the extreme step. 

A 16-year-old lost his life after playing PUBG for six hours straight. The constant stress and pressure of the game caused a severe cardiac arrest, which turned fatal. A similar story came from Thailand, 17-year-old died from a stroke after playing a video game all night long.

And trust me there are thousands of people who lost their life to trivial video games. Read more on 10 tragic deaths caused by video games.

Conclusion 

There are no two say that electronic gadgets impact your mood. 

A positive thought on the phone can lighten and brighten your day. A good show on the internet makes you feel good. Online chatting and shopping are fun. The internet is informative, helpful, engaging and entertaining.

But there is more bad than good!

People often overstep boundaries when using gadgets.

They get glued to the phone and end up sacrificing sleep, missing meals and skipping work. 

This results in poor sleep, bad dietary habits, depressed mood, anxiety, frustration and anger. Electronic gadget is trapping you in the virtual world keeping you away from the real world. And this is one of the major causes of increasing health issues.

So, I would say, using electronic gadgets are not bad. But losing self-control is!