Hyderabad: Screen pixels lead to hyperactivity, feel experts

Hyderabad: Longer duration of screen time in teenagers is resulting in shorter attention duration, hyperactivity, restlessness and excessive stimulation of the brain leading to anger, intolerance and lack of patience, stated experts in the city. Being glued all the time to your mobile screen increases the risk of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder by 10 per cent in teenagers according to a recent study published in JAMA. 

Dr Bharat Kumar, senior consultant psychiatrist at Apollo Hospitals explained “Screen pixels abnormally stimulate brain activity and this leads to hyperactivity in the teenager. The after-effects of this long screen time are restlessness, poor concentration and also lack of patience. At the clinical level, we find parents coming in with complaints of poor academic results and also aggressive behaviour.”

Experts state that the screen time of more than 6 to 8 hours in youngsters is harmful. Dr. Jagdish Reddy, senior psychiatrist explained “The development of the brain continues till teenage. We find that teenagers from 12 to 16 years are addicted to their mobile phones. They have a huge peer pressure to keep themselves updated and also be seen in their social circles. There is a lot of impulsive behaviour noted in these children as they are taking decisions without understanding the consequences.”

Researchers state that having access to so many different streams of information through gadgets is found to decrease the brain’s grey matter density which is responsible for cognition and emotional control. With the screen time becoming prime time, experts predict that within a decade there will be many suffering from Blackberry Thumb, Cellphone Elbow and Ringxiety. 

While there is no India-based study, doctors state that screen time is the highest in the country and while there are cases trickling in for attention deficit in education, it is merely the tip of the iceberg. There are many more but they come to clinics with constant complaints of headaches, vision problems and also lack of sleep.