A report from Sapien Labs reveals that smartphone can cause a sustained decline, in mental health of people aged 18-24 years.
The research says that before the internet, 18-year-olds could spend 15,000-25,000 hours interacting with friends or family face-to-face.
Chief Scientist at Sapien Labs, Tara Thiagarajan says this lack of social interaction prevents people from learning important skills, such as how to read facial expressions, body language, physical touch, emotional response and conflict.
Thiagarajan admits that people without such skills can be isolated from the social environment and tend to feel suicidal.
The study was obtained from 34 countries, where the decline in mental health of young adults aged 18-24 years had begun before the pandemic.
That decline has started since 2010, coinciding with an increase in mobile phone use.
Prior to that year, young adults were said to have the highest levels of psychological well-being, which then declined after that.
"The data shows that people are now spending 7-10 hours online. This leaves less time to interact in a direct social environment," said Thiagarajan.
To overcome this, users can take advantage of the Screen Time feature on iPhone or Digital Wellbeing on Android to limit smartphone usage time.
Here's how to use Screen Time on iPhone:
- Open Settings > Screen Time
- Knock Turn On Screen Time
- Select Continue.
- Select This is My [device] atau This is My Child's [device].
While for Android, the Digital Wellbeing or Digital Health feature is still in Beta. But some phones already have it by default.
Here's how to use Digital Wellbeing or Digital Health on Android:
- Go to Settings
- Scroll down and select Digital Health & Parental Control
- Tap Add icon in the application list to appear in the main menu