Kids Using Phones Before Sleeping At Night Isn’t Bad For their Health, Claims New Study

Till now there have been several expert opinions as well as research information on national sleep sites that  relates how using electronic devices like smartphones before bed time could impact mental health and even interfere with sleep patterns. But a study which was done in the Oxford Internet Institute states otherwise and says it may not be the case where data from 17000 teenagers showed little or no impact at all on their mental health.

1Now research say that smartphone usage before bed isn’t all that harmful

In recent years, both the tech industry and medical research has been taking note of the severe dependence of teenagers and preteens on smartphones. There have been many reports that said too much screen time affected mental health.

2A new study at Oxford Internet Institute

Another new study that was done by the University of Oxford Internet institute says that their research involving 17000 teenagers showed how there was very little evidence of a relation between screen time and well being. The study published in the journal Psychological science casted doubts on the widely accepted assumption that using a phone or laptop just before bed affects mental health.

3New study counteracts claims of earlier ones

There have been many statements issued by pediatricians and scientists who have warned about the dangers of teens spending a lot of time on electronic devices and computers. But one particular study counteracts these claims. The study was a collaborative one by the Oxford University Internet Institute and Cardiff University who incidentally are the first to state that there is no link between mental well being and screen time which were researched and measured separately for different digital activities over the week.

4The Goldilocks theory

The study proposed a theory known as the goldilocks theory which states that there is a typical point between high and low usage of devices which can be regarded as just about ok for teenagers or when they get a boost in mood by having screen time in moderation. The researchers feel that this could also be due to the fact that creativity, communication skills and development can be enhanced by digital connectivity.

By utilizing a well-established self-report measure, the researchers from Oxford and Cardiff Universities analyzed 120,000 15-year-olds in Britain and how much time they spent on their digital devices. The majority said they used various devices daily for gaming, films, communication, TV programmes, chatting and the internet. The paper concludes that screen time had very little impact on negative mental health to be of much concern.