A neurologist has issued a warning over smartphone use, claiming it could have a negative impact on our brains. He urged people to cut back on screen time to give their brains some “downtime”.
Phones have become a part of our everyday lives. In fact, a recent survey of 6,500 people by the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising found that people aged 15 and over spend an average of three hours and 21 minutes each day on their phones.
While they can make certain aspects of life more convenient – including managing your communication, calendar, and banking, for example, they could also be causing issues.
With this in mind, Dr Baibing Cheng, took to social media platform TikTok to explain more.
He warned that excessive scrolling could lead to five specific problems.
Dopamine overload
Dr Baibing, who is better known as Dr Bing, said: “Here’s what scrolling on the phone all day can do to your brain. Number one is dopamine overload.
“Every swipe you do on Instagram or TikTok can give you a tiny dopamine hit, which is the brain’s reward chemical. And over time your brain can start to crave short bursts of novelty instead of long focused effort and if you do this too often it’s like training your brain for instant gratification.”
Shortened attention span
This can make reading a book or attending a lecture suddenly “impossible”. “Number two is shortened attention span,” he continued.
“Constant novelty from scrolling keeps your prefrontal cortex, which is the part of the brain that controls focus, jumping from one thing to another and eventually real life starts to feel too slow. And that’s why reading a book or sitting through a lecture suddenly feels impossible.”
Reduced creativity
He explained: “This is because scrolling keeps your attention externally stimulated, which then shuts down your default mode network, the system that activates when you reflect or think deeply. And without mental rest you don’t have great creativity.”
Emotional desensitisation
You may not realise that using your phone could impact your ability to empathise with others. Dr Bing said: “Too much fast paced emotional content such as seeing something shocking and then something funny and then something sad or happy all at once can blunt your insular and limbic responses, which then makes you less sensitive to real emotions or even empathy fatigue.”
Increased anxiety
He added: “Your brain isn’t built for non stop novelty and that’s why the constant switching can drain your working memory and flood your stress circuits and why you feel wired yet mentally exhausted after hours of scrolling. Maybe this video is a sign for you to stop scrolling and give your brain some downtime.”