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What excessive screen time does to the adult brain

longevity.stanford.edu

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Re: What excessive screen time does to the adult brain

#81

Post by prox »

Terr_ wrote: post #67
raincole wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> It does make some evolutionary sense Does it? It sounds total bs to me. "When you have an object close to your face, it's registered as food, because you need to get close to your meal to eat it." "When you have an object close to your face, it's registered as love, because parents needs to get close to their child to look after them." When you have a statement that you can bend in an arbitrary way and still make s…

Yeah, sometimes I put a morning banana by my bed, and I'm pretty sure my body doesn't treat it is a threat . Seeking a charitable explanation, "near things are a threat" is a garbled form of "near things cause physiological arousal"? That more-inclusive version would then cover cases like "delicious fruit" and "scary spider" and "the thing I put down next to me as a reminder to do something with it as soon as I got u…

I would put sounds much more in a category of threat assessment for the brain than objects. Waking up when there is a big sound (lightning, heavy machinery etc.) can really interrupt one, especially if you haven’t had your full REM cycle.

I do think objects can be affective, but one would never willingly put scary stuff near your bed, unless you’re into that sort of thing.

Now your phone can be threatening if you always expect the worst, e.g. your employer constantly prodding you with messages , but then you have bigger problems.

Re: What excessive screen time does to the adult brain

#82

Post by lynx23 »

What a bunch of mumbo-jumbo. So an object close to your face is registered as a threat in the morning? Well, say bye bye to your coffee mug. I am sorry, but this is technophobic back-to-nature hippy babbling.

Some people are mentally challenged, I give you that. But why is this projected onto everyone else? How about these people get help, instead of trying to convince the wolrd that X is bad?

Re: What excessive screen time does to the adult brain

#83

Post by latexr »

frereubu wrote: post #21
MrJagil wrote: post #11

“One of the biggest issues with picking up the phone right away in the morning is that when you have an object close to your face, it’s registered as a threat,” says Loeffler. “You wouldn’t want to wake up and look a bear in the face every morning. On a physiological level, it’s the same thing.” This is interesting to me. It does make some evolutionary sense but at the same time, i wake up every morning and look at m…

This sounds like hocus pocus to me, along the lines of the claim that phone alert tones activate the "love centre" of the brain. Just so happens that the "love centre" is also the "vomiting centre" along with a load of other stuff. I'd treat this hand-wavy claim with the same kind of skepticism - your counter-example is an excellent one. I agree that looking at a phone first thing in the morning is a bad idea, but fo…

Agreed that justification sounds like rubbish. Especially when one of their stated alternatives is to read a book. Unless you’re reading a digital book through a projector, that too is an object close to the face.

Re: What excessive screen time does to the adult brain

#84

Post by askvictor »

raincole wrote: post #49
MrJagil wrote: post #11

“One of the biggest issues with picking up the phone right away in the morning is that when you have an object close to your face, it’s registered as a threat,” says Loeffler. “You wouldn’t want to wake up and look a bear in the face every morning. On a physiological level, it’s the same thing.” This is interesting to me. It does make some evolutionary sense but at the same time, i wake up every morning and look at m…

> It does make some evolutionary sense Does it? It sounds total bs to me. "When you have an object close to your face, it's registered as food, because you need to get close to your meal to eat it." "When you have an object close to your face, it's registered as love, because parents needs to get close to their child to look after them." When you have a statement that you can bend in an arbitrary way and still make s…

And if a bear is close to your face, I'd think it's much too late.

Re: What excessive screen time does to the adult brain

#86

Post by arendtio »

Screen time feels like a very weird concept. I mean, it feels very different if I read news, write code or watch a movie. Similarly, the screen size and the environment (busy street vs. silent room), changes a lot of the experience too. And what about computer interactions which do not involve a screen like having an AI on a call?

I would expect that all these factors play a role in the effects on the brain.

Re: What excessive screen time does to the adult brain

#87

Post by latexr »

MrJagil wrote: post #11

“One of the biggest issues with picking up the phone right away in the morning is that when you have an object close to your face, it’s registered as a threat,” says Loeffler. “You wouldn’t want to wake up and look a bear in the face every morning. On a physiological level, it’s the same thing.” This is interesting to me. It does make some evolutionary sense but at the same time, i wake up every morning and look at m…

> You wouldn’t want to wake up and look a bear in the face every morning.

Sure I would! If I’m alive every day when I look at that bear, that’s a pretty good sign they don’t mean to harm me. In fact, sleeping next to a bear sounds like great protection from other predators, and quite warm and cosy too, like a giant cat.

Re: What excessive screen time does to the adult brain

#88

Post by greg_V »

Helmut10001 wrote: post #2

Regarding the recommendation to not spend the first hour of the day in front of the screen. I found the other way around more helpful: Not spending the last 1-2 hours in front of screens. This helps me to get better sleep. In the morning, I find it not so difficult and screen time (+coffee) helps me to wake up slowly.

No screen before bedtime/no screens in bed is like the easiest health improvement hack that anyone can implement.

With that said, anecdotally I can vouch for the "no screen in the first hour" suggestion the article is making. I've been working for home for the past few years, and I feel more sluggish since I just move to my laptop first thing in the morning, instead of having that preparation-breakfast-commute routine. Granted I live in a walkable city so commute doesn't mean what it means in SV, but it's the same idea.

Re: What excessive screen time does to the adult brain

#89

Post by Sponge5 »

arendtio wrote: post #86

Screen time feels like a very weird concept. I mean, it feels very different if I read news, write code or watch a movie. Similarly, the screen size and the environment (busy street vs. silent room), changes a lot of the experience too. And what about computer interactions which do not involve a screen like having an AI on a call? I would expect that all these factors play a role in the effects on the brain.

Personally, it also makes a difference how busy the screen is. A bunch of cookie banners and popup ads immediately spikes my cortisol level.

Re: What excessive screen time does to the adult brain

#90

Post by portaouflop »

askvictor wrote: post #84
raincole wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> It does make some evolutionary sense Does it? It sounds total bs to me. "When you have an object close to your face, it's registered as food, because you need to get close to your meal to eat it." "When you have an object close to your face, it's registered as love, because parents needs to get close to their child to look after them." When you have a statement that you can bend in an arbitrary way and still make s…

And if a bear is close to your face, I'd think it's much too late.

You wouldn’t download a bear
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