World Mental Health Day: How Tech Impacts Our Mental Health [Infographic]
October 10th is World Mental Health Day and it’s a chance to raise awareness of a global health issue that is very important to us. It’s also a great opportunity to consider how technology can impact mental health. Of course, anybody with a smartphone will tell you that too much screen time is not a great thing, but there is also an increasing amount of scientific research showing how mobile tech can negatively affect our mental health.
A shocking 50% of American teens say they feel addicted to their phones. We’ve also seen a number of celebrities talking about phone addiction and their efforts to digital detox. With phones becoming bigger and smarter, it’s harder than ever to put them down. They are built to keep us consumed and it’s safe to say they are changing the way we interact with each other. Our Director of Marketing, Lauren Harper, recently went on the Heroine podcast to discuss the relationship between tech and mental health. She shared some helpful advice on how and when to set your phone down so you can embrace the real world around you.
In researching how to better live in the moment in the digital age, we found Catherine Price’s book, How to Break up with Your Phone, to be an enlightening take on how you can make tech work for you, not the other way around. We even had the chance to host a Q&A with Catherine, which you can check out on our IG today! We’re inspired by thought leaders like Price and we’ve found a lot of resources that help us better understand the role tech plays in mental health. We’ve found great info from the likes of the American Academy of Pediatrics and psychologist Dr. Jean Twenge (among many others) who have studied and published extensively on the subject.
In taking a closer look at how our mental health is affected by phone addiction and screen time, we found some amazing, yet alarming facts. To highlight some of the most eye-opening findings, we put together an infographic that shows the effects that mobile devices can have throughout our lifetime. Check it out:
The research reflected in the infographic is helping us to create products that let users have better relationships with the tech in their lives. Palm is a great place to start if you want to spend less time on your phone - get yours here.