Volume 4, Number 4

Digital Media and Mental Health

  Authors

Sushant Kumar Lal, Land Refrencer, WSP, India

  Abstract

Digital media has become part of our nature and technologies like laptops and smartphones and social media all play an important role in our lives. But the overutilization of digital media and technology leads to social problems. We learn to become passive engagers. We watch someone else's profile but we don't engage and so we are losing the social connection. More the technology we consume, more we are susceptible to increased rates of depression. Electronic screens can also disrupt screen and lack of good sleep can result in a depressed mood, moodiness and irritability. It not only affects the hormones in our brains via blue light that comes off the screens but also hampers our social life directly or indirectly in such a way that we slowly and gradually we not only become lazy, but it also distresses our logical way of thinking and lose the will to do things which contributes in the society rather than give priority to the digital world. Spending too much time online like social websites, movies and TV series, web-surfing, etc. is also a psychological addiction like a substance addiction. It affects the impairment of various brain regions that those with drug dependence have. These brain regions control emotional processing, attention and decision making. Since, digital media provides immediate rewards with very little effort required, our brain begins to rewire itself making us desire these stimulations and we begin to crave more of this neurological excitement after each interaction which is likewise to a drug. The main aim of this paper is to make the readers aware of the impact of digital media on their mental health, how they can be identified and their possible solutions. The findings and limitations of the paper are also explained.

  Keywords

Technology, social problems, depression