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Less screen time and more sleep critical for preventing depression

westernsydney.edu.au

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Re: Less screen time and more sleep critical for preventing depression

#81

Post by jjk166 »

dash2 wrote: post #75
technofiend wrote: post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>and ‘In a typical DAY, how many hours do you spend using a computer? (not including time using a computer at work)’ Sure, that's at least an attempt. However would you characterize spending time on a personal project work? That's why I called out my specific examples of side jobs and hobby projects. I'm not rejecting the findings In particular, maintaining optimal sleep and lessening screen time (which is often an i…

That's interesting, but have you got evidence for your belief? Are you sure the wish is not father to the thought here?

The onus is on those making the initial claim that they have properly accounted for error and that their interpretation of the evidence is the most reasonable. Questioning if a potential error has been accounted for or if another interpretation has been considered is important.

Re: Less screen time and more sleep critical for preventing depression

#82

Post by johnfn »

mattlutze wrote: post #62
technofiend wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In my humble opinion passive consumption of media is entirely different from engaging in a creative process. Perhaps it's just projection on my part but surfing the web for hours reading Reddit, Hacker News and YouTube is entirely different than banging out some new chapters for your NaNoWriMo novel, updating a blog or making a github commit.

The researchers attempted to control for this: "Sedentary screen time Sedentary screen time is calculated in hours per week, adding together the participants’ answers to the questions ‘In a typical DAY, how many hours do you spend watching TV?’ (FC: 1070) and ‘In a typical DAY, how many hours do you spend using a computer? (not including time using a computer at work)’ (FC: 1080)." https://bmcmedicine.biomedcentral.c…

I don't understand how this controls for GP's concerns. You'd need something much more precise, like "how many hours per week do you spend using the computer in an active creative pursuit such as writing, drawing etc."

Re: Less screen time and more sleep critical for preventing depression

#83

Post by porknubbins »

dpeck wrote: post #5

Not all screen time is the same and it’s far beyond time for us to stop equivocating Facebook/Instagram and other social media nastiness with all the positive things that can be done on a screen. It confuses people, and as we stare down another quarantine and a long cold winter telling people to spend less time with what could be their only contact to the outside world can be actively harmful.

I guess that as screens become ubiquitous lumping everything into “screen time” will become increasingly meaningless. I imagine that in medieval times illiterate tribes who came across writing would see it as a kind of technology and be surprised how much “paper time” scribes or monks spend, without regard for the content of the information or the actual task being accomplished.

Re: Less screen time and more sleep critical for preventing depression

#84

Post by johnfn »

SonicSoul wrote: post #18
dpeck wrote: post #5

Not all screen time is the same and it’s far beyond time for us to stop equivocating Facebook/Instagram and other social media nastiness with all the positive things that can be done on a screen. It confuses people, and as we stare down another quarantine and a long cold winter telling people to spend less time with what could be their only contact to the outside world can be actively harmful.

you're commenting on a study with what sounds like an opinion that feels right to you. maybe it's not just about social media vs "positive" activities. some of it may be related to screen addiction and inability to focus due to externals stimuli. any unhealthy habit could have a configuration where its not as unhealthy to some people, but it doesn't mean the study is "confusing people"

The study considered "screen time" as an unvariegated whole[1]. That is confusing. Screen time is not a singular activity - there's an infinite diversity of things that you can do on a screen - some great for your health, other very poor.

It'd be like a study came out saying "food proven to make Americans overweight" because, on average, people eat junk food. Strictly speaking that is true, but it's not useful information.

[1]: Alright, it considered "non-work screen time" as an unvariegated whole - but my point still stands here.

Re: Less screen time and more sleep critical for preventing depression

#85

Post by johnfn »

brudgers wrote: post #71

Depression is not a lifestyle choice. Our eating, exercise, sleep, etc. are habits developed over a lifetime. Chronic health issues, sexual abuse, traumatic death of a loved one, and bad luck are what to avoid. And of course some formulations of brain chemistry. Casting depression as a lifestyle issue is a step backward. Mental health is already stigmatized far too much. Depression is not a moral failing of will powe…

I think this is a little too one-sided. Yes, there is a group of people who have depression due to factors outside of their control, and we should all be cognizant of that. But that doesn't mean that literally every person who's depressed falls into that group. There's another group of people who are depressed due to factors at least somewhat within their control.

Re: Less screen time and more sleep critical for preventing depression

#86

Post by arduinomancer »

> critical for preventing depression

How did they make the jump from "people with high frequency of depressed moods have more screen time" to "less screen time is critical for preventing depression"?

Its possible that is true but claiming this based on the study is like saying "less lying in your bed all day is critical for preventing depression"

Re: Less screen time and more sleep critical for preventing depression

#87

Post by npsimons »

technofiend wrote: post #49
dkersten wrote: post #32

I love how a lot of commenters are redefining “screen time” to suit their opinions or otherwise rationalise their screen time, rather than taking the study as is. I mean, sure, perhaps different types of screen time have different impact and this requires further study, but using anecdotes and opinions isn’t that.

In my humble opinion passive consumption of media is entirely different from engaging in a creative process. Perhaps it's just projection on my part but surfing the web for hours reading Reddit, Hacker News and YouTube is entirely different than banging out some new chapters for your NaNoWriMo novel, updating a blog or making a github commit.

> In my humble opinion passive consumption of media is entirely different from engaging in a creative process. Perhaps it's just projection on my part but surfing the web for hours reading Reddit, Hacker News and YouTube is entirely different than banging out some new chapters for your NaNoWriMo novel, updating a blog or making a github commit.

I will second this so hard, as it is my experience as well. Just staring slackjawed, mindlessly scrolling for hours on end, is a noticeable difference from writing code. I wish there were studies on these differences.

Re: Less screen time and more sleep critical for preventing depression

#88

Post by baron816 »

I’d really like to see Apple/Google or others try to turn screen time into a sort of currency.

A child does some chores? They get 30 minutes of scene time added to their bank account. They keep some screen time unused and they earn interest on that time they can cash out later. Their sibling has a birthday? Let them transfer some time as a gift.

Limit screen time and build some financial literacy and delayed gratification at the same time.

Re: Less screen time and more sleep critical for preventing depression

#89

Post by W4ldi »

brudgers wrote: post #71

Depression is not a lifestyle choice. Our eating, exercise, sleep, etc. are habits developed over a lifetime. Chronic health issues, sexual abuse, traumatic death of a loved one, and bad luck are what to avoid. And of course some formulations of brain chemistry. Casting depression as a lifestyle issue is a step backward. Mental health is already stigmatized far too much. Depression is not a moral failing of will powe…

Depression does not have to be moral failing of will power, but it definitely can be cured by moral success of will power.
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