How does technology affect our brains?

Carrots and broccoli are known to be good for you, but can you eat them all day long? There is no doubt that the waste of everything has its disadvantages, yet many of us use too many electronic devices.

A Global Web Index survey of Internet users in 34 countries found that Internet users spent an average of six and a half hours per day on the Internet.

The survey found that users in Thailand, the Philippines and Brazil reported spending more than nine hours a day on the Internet and a third of those hours on social media.

Scientific studies are still examining the extent to which electronic devices actually affect physical and mental health.

"Many doctors have recently associated with depression, anxiety, body dissatisfaction, and the abuse of digital devices and technologies, and now identify digital addiction as a mental disorder," says Shimi. Kang, a Canadian psychiatrist specializing in the effects of mental health addiction on children and adolescents.

However, digital devices and technologies, such as food, are more harmful or useful than others. If we want to avoid harm and take advantage of it, we must first understand how these devices affect our brain.

• What happens to children who spend hours in front of electronic devices?
• Advantages and disadvantages of the ability to control electronic devices with the power of reason

How the brain interacts with electronic devices

According to Kang, the brain reacts in the same way as metabolism with electronic devices: it produces six different types of neurochemicals – the chemicals that activate the nervous system – in our body:

• Serotonin, which is produced when we are creative and when we communicate with others or feel that we play a positive role in society.

Endorphins – natural "analgesic" in the body, which is secreted when we practice mental introspection, meditation and exercises that improve the heart and respiratory condition and when we feel grateful.

• Oxytocin – the body excretes this hormone during emotional interaction with others in the context of positive social relationships. The hormone is helpful in general, but the feelings resulting from the secretion of this hormone may be beneficial for some people who are trying to incite their victims of children or teens online to blackmail and sexual exploitation.

• Dopamine – a neurotransmitter related to immediate pleasure and reward, as well as addiction. Digital techniques and devices are specifically designed to stimulate dopamine secretion.

Adrenaline is known to regulate the reaction to a "confrontation or flight" in the face of a sudden threat or attack, but the brain also excretes this neurotransmitter in response to social media user interactions, admiring or trying to to attract attention.

• Cortisol – the body secretes this hormone in response to psychological pressure. They are usually exhausted, sleep-deprived, busy and distracted from high levels of cortisol in the blood.

However, not all digital technologies and devices, and it is our use of technological devices that determines the extent of our use or our damage.

Digital health and other harmful devices

Kang says that digital health devices and technologies are all devices that stimulate the brain to secrete serotonin, endorphins, or oxytocin.

Meditation applications, creative applications, and communication applications that help us build social connections are just examples of health techniques.

But if the dose of dopamine, which plays a role in the acquisition of new habits, increases, you can enter the danger zone that can lead you to addiction.

"Suppose your child likes an app that develops creative thinking and likes to make movies using this app, but after a while it had become excessive to spend six or seven hours a day," says Kang.

"This application can not be classified as unnecessary application, such as a game. & # 39;Candy Crash & # 39;In which the brain only reacts with dopamine, but you must be careful and set time limits when you use it. "

Kang believes on the other hand that there are low quality and useless techniques that we could use to hurt ourselves only. Kang is similar to the unhealthy foods that some people eat to appease their negative feelings, such as when we are under psychological stress.

"What worries us is the harmful or offensive content on the Internet that can activate fun and reward centers in the brain, such as pornography, cyberbullying, games of chance, video games designed as under captivating, Spreading hate speech against a particular category ".

Moderation

As for dieting, Kang says that moderation in the use of devices and digital techniques requires moving away harmful substances on the Internet. But there is no objection to violating certain rules from time to time.

Doctors advise us, for example, to avoid processed foods and sugary drinks, but it is normal to eat pizzas and popcorn with children the day before the weekend.

Also, do not be afraid to browse your Instagram account or play video games during short breaks.

But if you have diabetes or are at risk, the amount of sugar your doctors will allow you to eat will be lower than the amount that allows people without diabetes to take it. Fang says the same thing applies to digital technologies.

"If a member of your family has already been affected by addiction, anxiety, depression or other time management issues, you should exercise caution when using electronic devices because you are more likely than others to become addicted to harmful sites and applications. "

Kang says teens are more vulnerable than others to digital addiction, and research has revealed that we are the most vulnerable to the problems of using the Internet.

Digital detoxification

With the continued expansion of the Internet, the growing user base and the proliferation of smart phones around the world, some seem to reject the dominance of technology over our lives.

According to a report by Global Web Index, seven in ten Internet users in the United Kingdom and the United States have attempted to moderate the use of electronic devices or have stopped using digital devices during their travels or for an extended period.

Some said they closed their accounts on social networking sites and removed some apps from their phones, while others said they spent less time on the Internet.

Kang says that our use of electronic devices should not overwhelm our other basic human needs.

"We have to sleep eight or nine hours a day and spend two or three hours doing physical activity, we have to go outside and be exposed to natural light." If your use of electronic devices requires you to neglect your other main activities,.

You can read the original article on the BBC Capital page.