The Biochemical Impact of Screen Time
A smartphone is not a mere tool in our hands supposedly making life easier, but also an object triggering biochemical reactions in our brains; feeding obsessions and addictions, and potentially making our quality of life significantly poorer.
As we approach the second decade of the 21st Century, we are so deeply immersed in our tech-driven world that we get immediately and lastingly, anxious and desperate if we lose our connection to the internet or our devices stop working. By now there’s a large body of scientific research illuminating the dark, downside of the technology that we don’t want to live without.
About Dr Marlena Kruger
Finding the balance between the hard-core tech abstinence that would relegate us to fringes of modern society and soulless immersion in our devices is a passion of Technology Addiction Expert, Dr Marlena Kruger.
She is the founder of the TechnoLife Wise Foundation. With a 25+ year career playing a variety of roles in tertiary education under her belt, Dr Marlena has studied the impact of the internet and social media on our brains and bodies – from toddlers to adults. She developed the innovative, holistic Technolife Smart programmes, based on her trademarked Integrated Techno-life Balance System™.
When a click triggers a dopamine reward, we need to ask critical questions:
- Do I really need to check my phone right now?
- Is this adding quality to my life, relationships, and health?
- Does this help me live a balanced, healthy and happy life?
If we don’t make wise choices, it’s easy to become enslaved by technology. Stress levels rise, while relationships, productivity, and physical health decline.
“We slide down the slippery slope into the overuse of tech and social media when we are not critical and conscious enough of why we are spending our present time online.”
Signs of Technology Overuse and Screen Addiction
- You prefer screen time to real-life socialising
- You prefer screen time to physical activity
- You prefer screen time to taking care of your responsibilities
- You think, and tell others, that your screen time is the best way for you to relax
- You won’t disappoint your online friends by quitting playing; but you live with disappointing those closest to you because of your screen distractions
- You’re on your phone before you turn the lights out at night and first thing when you awake
- Social media loves and likes are more thrilling than real-life approvals
- Social media slights and insults are more devastating than real-life disapprovals
- You avoid conflict and authentic conversations
- You are restless, depressed, anxious, moody or irritable when you are not online
- You experience your virtual world as bigger and more valuable than your real life
Impacts of Technology Dependence
Dr Marlena highlights that over-dependence on online connectedness compromises:
- Physical health (lack of exercise, poor lifestyle habits).
- Emotional wellbeing (stress, anxiety, loneliness).
- Relationships (we connect with strangers globally but neglect people around us).
- Children’s development (stunted social, emotional, intellectual and physical growth).
- Self-reflection (we lose the ability to just “be”).
To learn more about the impact of excessive screen time on adolescents, explore Teens and Technology: The Anxiety Connection.
The Decline of Critical Thinking
There are numerous neuroscientific studies that have chartered the decline of our critical thinking skills in the current tech age. It’s no co-incidence that as we lose abilities to apply logic, reason and discernment, fake news is steeply on the rise. This loss of critical and creative thinking weakens our ability to solve real-world challenges.
Losing Our Human Touch
As we let platforms like Amazon, Apple, Netflix, Facebook and Google predict what we consume, we risk losing what makes us human.
“We’re losing human fundamentals such as empathy, eye contact, respect, love, honour, integrity and trust,” says Dr Marlena.
This erosion of human values leaves us at risk of becoming numb, robotic, and detached — despite advances in artificial intelligence.
FAQs
What are the negative effects of screen time?
Excessive screen time can affect mental health, reduce physical activity, weaken relationships, and harm productivity.
What are the signs of screen addiction?
Restlessness when offline, prioritising screens over responsibilities, and finding social media more rewarding than real-life interactions.
How does screen time affect children?
Children’s social, emotional, intellectual, and physical development can be stunted when they overuse screens.
