Mental Fatigue Due To Excessive Screen Time During The Pandemic - Covid-19
The Corona virus has had a huge impact on planet Earth and obviously mankind. The collective consciousness is making people feel negative energy. From a large number of deaths to affecting the global economy, it has been a catastrophic disaster. Apart from physical symptoms, it has caused fear, anxiety, depression, uncertainty and also mental fatigue (due to excessive screen time on our phones, laptops and televisions).
This pandemic has pushed us largely indoors, and it’s not just work, but interpersonal interactions as well as recreational activities that have taken a digital turn. “Take a moment to reflect on what all you use screens for and identify the time wasters where you mindlessly scroll online. While screen time during work is unavoidable, try to step away during breaks to relax your mind. Stay physically active and engage in other activities around the house that don’t require gadgets. Most of all, remember that it’s not just the amount of time we spend in front of the screen that matter, but rather, how we use that time – use your screens to stay productive, remain connected and spread positivity,” said Dr. Samir Parikh, Director, Fortis National Mental Health Program.
The average usage of smartphones by Indians is estimated to have gone up 25 percent to almost 7 hours a day as people depend on these gadgets for work/study from home and entertainment amid the pandemic, a report said. The study said the average time spent on smartphones in a day has been on the rise with average usage growing 11 percent to 5.5 hours in March 2020 (pre-COVID) from about 4.9 hours on average in 2019. This has grown by another 25 percent to 6.9 hours April onwards (post-COVID).
Research shows that increased screen time is leading to reduced human interaction and is leading to harm to personal relationships in many people. It is common that you see people and even children hooked to their devices even at dinner tables rather than having meaning conversations with each other, leading to weakening of social and personal relationships.
“It is true excessive screen time is leading to mental fatigue in people. In simple terms, it is leading to eye fatigue, directly leading to weakening of eye muscles resulting in headaches in people. Prolonged headaches lead to psychological distress and also drop in work performance leading t psychological stress. It is also seen that people are becoming addicted to screens and devices (Even if they don’t want). It is researched that digital addictions follows the same neural pathway in the human brain as with substance addition like alcohol. Any sort of addiction whether substance or digital is detrimental for health (physical, psychological and social).” said Dr. Akshay Kumar, Associate Consultant, Mental Health and Behavioral Sciences - Artemis Hospital. And Director, Ask Insights.
Other psychological effects of excessive screen time are insomnia (As most people now days are working on their devices even late at night), after which the brain is unable to drift off to the rest mode, and gradually gets accustomed to working even at night, disturbing sleep cycles in many people. There has also been a 55 percent increase in time spent on social media, and a 45 percent rise in time spent gaming on smartphones.
According to Dr. Kumar, “Even social media addiction has been seen a major challenge in teens and adults in recent times. When people look at others doing well, looking well, travelling across the world etc. on social medial it leads to lowering of self-esteem and sometimes even anxiety issues. The virtual world in these times, especially the pandemic is a sword with both sides being fatal. The world is now heavily dependent on the virtual connect especially in the work from home scenario to avoid spreading of the Corona virus (and rightly so), people must realize that it is important to create a balance. Before the Corona virus pandemic organizations were rigorously working on the issue to work-life balance and now after the pandemic, the issue of work-life balance has shifted to screen-life balance, which should be taken care of by both individuals and organizations together.”
A report noted that since lockdown, Indians have been spending more time on their smartphone for work from home (75 percent increase), calling (63 percent rise), and OTT (over the top services like Netflix, Spotify etc) that has seen 59 percent growth in time spent on smartphones. There has also been a 55 percent increase in time spent on social media, and 45 percent rise in time spent gaming on smartphones. Interestingly, the average duration of clicking pictures and taking selfies has increased from 14 minutes to 18 minutes in a day.
The study comprised 2,000 respondents aged 15-45 years across top eight cities (four metros, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad and Pune) with 70 percent male and 30 per cent female participants.
On a conclusive note we can say that most of the mental fatigue caused to children and adults is due to exposure to screens and excessive screen time.
