Control+Alt+Delete Digital Stress

While digital technology has many upsides, the downside of all of those hours spent glued to our devices is the toll they take on our physical and emotional well-being. Because we get that you’re not going to give up Instagram, let alone your job, we asked the experts for their savviest strategies for minimizing the impact of screen time.

- Amanda Altman

But back to my point: After delving deep into the abyss of likes and hashtags, suddenly I came up for air—with an intense craving for avocado toast. I looked at the clock and realized an hour had passed by. An entire hour. I was left wondering where the time had gone, how I’d spent 60 minutes scrolling and following, barely taking a breath and certainly not taking a break. (And then I went to make that toast, obviously.)

If only the effects of engaging in social media, and the vast universe of apps, emails and texting, began and ended with avocado toast. Sadly, all of that time spent in front of screens is harming our health, both physical or mental, in both small and life-threatening ways alike.

No need to take my word (or your tense neck and shoulders) for it; there’s plenty of science that points to the unfortunate ramifications of too much screen time on the mind and body. To wit: In 2018, researchers at the University of Pennsylvania found that minimizing social media use adds up to a significant decrease in loneliness and depression. That same year, a study in the journal Scientific Reports pointed to blue light exposure from screens killing photoreceptor cells in your eyes, which can lead to macular degeneration. Recently, research in the journal Brain Imaging and Behavior linked media multitasking (when you switch back and forth between devices, such as going from your cell to your laptop) to a greater chance of developing food cravings and a decreased inability to resist them, which could up your obesity risk.