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Psychologists say spending time on your smartphone browsing social media and replying to messages isn’t bad for your mental health, as previously thought.
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By analyzing data from Android and iPhone users, British researchers found that the time people spend on smartphones is a poor indicator of anxiety, depression or stress, and they advise caution when it comes to digital detox.
Surprisingly, the amount of time a user spent on a smartphone was not associated with poor mental health. Instead, the study found that mental health was linked to concerns about smartphone use.
And the researchers didn’t find that in people who scored high on depressive symptoms, they used their smartphones more than those who had low depressive symptoms.
Experts say that worrying about the amount of time you spend on your smartphone, rather than the actual time you spend on it, is more likely to be the cause of any negative psychological impact.
Study author Heather Shaw, of Lancaster University’s Department of Psychology, notes, “It is important to consider device usage separately from people’s concerns about technology. This is because time shows no notable relationship to mental health. how does fear “.
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Researchers looked at different ways to measure “smartphone usage” through smartphone usage metrics (PSUs), personal estimates and objective recordings based on watch time.
The first part of the study recruited 46 people who owned Android smartphones and their use was monitored for a week.
Participants were asked about their mental health and completed clinical scales that measure anxiety, stress, and symptoms of depression.
Participants also compiled the Smartphone Use Scale (PSU), which measures how problematic they were in perceiving smartphone use and provided estimates of their usage time.
Regarding the smartphone usage scale, participants rated the extent to which they agree with several statements, such as “feeling happy or excited while using a smartphone”, on a six-point scale ranging from “strongly agree “to” strongly disagree “, with higher scores. Indicates an increased risk of addiction.
For the second part of the study, 199 iPhone users were recruited who completed an online survey asking them to report using their smartphone from Apple Screen Time settings for the past week.
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IPhone users were asked the same mental health questions in Part 1, completed the PSU scale, and provided estimates of their usage.
Despite numerous reports indicating otherwise, the amount of time an individual spends browsing a smartphone is not linked to poor mental health.
“Daily smartphone captures or a person’s screen time did not predict anxiety, depression or stress symptoms,” Shaw said.
Instead, the study found that mental health was linked to participants’ concerns about smartphone use.
Source: Daily Mail
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