Too much screen time makes us more likely to drink and smoke too much

By Gwyn Wright via SWNS

Too much screen time makes us more depressed, anxious and more likely to drink and smoke too much, according to a new study of middle-aged British people.

Researchers found the longer people spend glued to their screens, the worse these problems become.

Retreating from the real world into TV and computers harms our mental health by replacing physical exercise and reducing the number of ‘supportive or emotionally enhancing social interactions’ we have.

But the researchers cautioned their findings do not definitely mean gadgets cause unhappiness rather than merely being linked to it.

Encouraging people to use their devices for shorter periods could be the best way to boost people’s mental health, the researchers said.

They also found previous studies have shown a link between screentime and physical health problems such as hypertension, strokes and breathing problems.

The academics looked at the health, hospital records and genetic data of hundreds of thousands of middle-aged Brits for the study, and also gathered data from interviews and questionnaires at 22 sites across the country between 2006 and 2010.

They were asked how much time they spent watching TV, using the computer and playing computer games- while anxiety and depression levels were ranked on a scale of 0 to 27.

Cigarette and alcohol use was measured by the amount of the substances people claimed they consumed each week.

Variables were adjusted for sex, age, educational attainment and levels of deprivation where we live.

All the participants were white, aged 40 to 69 and the researchers made sure none were related to each other.

The scientists said the fact participants self-reported their symptoms and a lack of younger and non-white participants means more research is needed.

Lead study author Jing Ye of Xi’an Jiaotong University, China said: “This study suggests electronic device use may interact with brain or nerve development-related genes, leading to being associated with mental traits.

“Our work highlights the importance of electronic devices use for mental health and suggests short-term electronic devices use might be a new way to reduce the burden on mental health.”

The findings were published in the journal Addiction Biology.