by Elena Meli
Spending a lot of time in front of smartphones, tablets and the like between one and two years of life changes the brain’s ability to process sensations. The dangers of digital in children and adolescents
Putting a smartphone in the hands of a small child to keep him quiet when we are at a restaurant is a decidedly bad idea: this is confirmed an American investigation published in JAMA Pediatrics, according to which spending a lot of time in front of digital screens between one and two years of life is associated with changes in the ability to process sensations and above all with the tendency to seek “strong sensations” more, and therefore sometimes get into trouble as one grows up.
I study
The survey was conducted in the United States on almost 1500 children aged 12, 18 and 24 months for whom exposure to digital content was evaluated in relation to the way in which they process and manage sensations: the results show that these change and become “atypical” in children who spend too much time in front of screens, but above all that all this could contribute to making them more “risk-takers”, because the tendency to seek strong sensations is growing.
Early digital exposure modifies this, but also sensory sensitivity in general and can also be associated, on the contrary, with a tendency to avoid sensations and emotions: whichever way you look at it, according to the authors «these data are important because many disorders of development and behavior are associated with specific profiles in sensory processing capacity, which digital alters at an early age: it will therefore be necessary to investigate to understand whether all this affects the risk of developing disorders such as ADHD or the autism spectrum. In the meantime, we believe it is appropriate for parents to follow the recommendations of the American Academy of Pediatrics, according to which exposure to screens should be avoided in children under 18-24 months.
Negative effects in older adults
These data are part of a line of research that points the finger at excess exposure to digital, even in those who are older: in adolescents, for example, the greatest risk appears to be addiction to the internet and social media. A phenomenon that is spreading, according to research conducted by the IRCCS Stella Maris of Pisa and the AUSL of Bologna and promoted by the Anti-Drug Policies Department of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers and by the National Center for Addiction and Doping of the Istituto Superiore di Sanità. The data was collected on over 8,700 students aged between eleven and seventeen from across the country, to investigate online behavior and understand the extent of disorders associated with the use of technologies; the results indicate that the phenomenon of Hikikomori, a disorder identified in Japan in very young people who lock themselves in their bedrooms living only through computers and smartphones, concerns around 2 percent of young people in Italy too, or just under 100 thousand young people in total retreat from the world.
Added to them are over 1,00 thousand young people, 2.5 percent of the total, who make compulsive and uncontrolled use of the internet, spending much of their time scrolling through reels, photos and comments on social media; another 500 thousand, especially males, are addicted or at high risk of developing an addiction to video games.
Addictions or passion as teenagers?
As the experts of the Italian Society of Child and Adolescent Neuropsychiatry (SINPIA) and the Italian Society of Neuropsychopharmacology (SINPF) underlined when commenting on the data, the line that separates an adolescent passion from a true addiction is sometimes thin because in boys the brain is in a phase of reorganization second only to that which occurs in the very first years of life: the areas responsible for cognitive control are not yet fully developed, it is therefore difficult to curb impulses or decide to break away from something that offers gratification and pleasure, like an outdated pattern at your favorite video game or watching stories on Instagram.
However, when it becomes impossible to do without it, daily habits change and you feel unwell if you are not online, there is a real addiction which, like those to substances, is associated with reduced mental health and negative social consequences. The Italian data show an increase in the number of young people involved compared to the past and this, according to C laudio Mencacci, co-president of SINPF, occurs because «The very young today are more often victims of anxiety and depression, less integrated into the social fabric and at the same time they are exposed to radically different technological stimuli compared to their peers of just twenty years ago. Pandemic, wars, environmental and economic crises are amplifying a discomfort that was already present: the progressive reduction of socialization, the decrease in emotional relationships and experiences typical of the growth path are all phenomena that are increasing in recent years, as is the growing pressure for the performance.”
Recognize the signs of social discomfort
The web, social media and video games thus become a means of escaping stress and discomfort, but the step towards addiction can be short and it is necessary to know how to recognize the signs: «Addiction to video games, for example, is recognizable by its use in moments of stress , withdrawal symptoms, the habit of lying about use, loss of control and other interests; it is often associated with anxiety, depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, autism spectrum disorders or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder”, explains the neuropsychiatrist of the IRCCS Stella Maris Foundation in Pisa Stefano Berloffa, one of the authors of the Italian study.
If a problem of “technology abuse” is suspected, it is important to ask the doctor for help to help children regain control of their lives, because the brain mechanisms are the same ones involved in substance addictions and it is important to set up a treatment: generally we intervene with family and cognitive-behavioral therapies, in selected cases and under strict medical supervision it can sometimes be useful to use drugs such as mood stabilizers, to reduce impulsivity, or antidepressants, if anxiety is associated with addiction and/or depression.
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February 19, 2024 (modified February 19, 2024 | 09:47)
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