Singapore teenagers spend nearly 8.5 hours a day on screens: CNA-IPS survey

FAR-REACHING Implications

With the increase of techniques, psychologists warned the overwhelming overflow of information may include far-reaching consequences – not just for a child’s well-being, but for their mental development.

Additionally, studies have demonstrated that more screen time, particularly on social media, is closely related to increased isolation and separation.

Dr Natalie Games, a top clinical psychologist at Alliance Professional Counselling, said youth ‘ brains undergo shifts around the age of 12 to 13, where they move from “having a go at all” to becoming” professionals”.

” If a teenager is spending that amount of time on tech, on cultural media, therefore they’re missing out on the other things that their brain and their well-being and their growth- politically, psychologically, emotionally, emotionally- need to be able to go through this stage of life with skills to be able to handle the future”, Dr Games added.

Teenagers who are looking at multiple products at once are unable to concentrate on one item at a time, she noted.

She said:” We’re getting a dopaminergic hit from scrolling … But then what happens is the trip. When we put ( our devices ) away, we are left with a very empty feeling, because there’s nothing we’ve accomplished”.

Audrey has experienced this, and she claims that she can start experiencing negative thoughts after a while while getting a rush of excitement from being plugged in.

” I can bookmark on TikTok for maybe one or two days, and then I just feel a little bad about it afterwards. Not everything you see is really authentic”, she said.

You may feel negative about yourself when you see some people, as you may well know, who have everything they could possibly need but don’t. And I believe that has a significant impact on my mental wellness.