Dr. Harry Gill, a renowned psychiatrist with a PhD in neuroscience, joins the discussion on how excessive screen time can negatively impact young adults' mental health and social skills. He emphasizes the importance of face-to-face interactions during critical developmental phases, warning against the dangers of pseudo intimacy formed through screens. Dr. Gill and host Dr. Karyne Messina share alarming studies linking high social media usage to increased anxiety and depression, urging listeners to cherish real-life connections for a healthier mind.
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insights INSIGHT
Brain Development and Screen Time
Young adults' brains, especially the prefrontal cortex, are still developing until age 25.
Screen time hinders this development by replacing real-life interaction with "pseudo-intimacy."
insights INSIGHT
Social Media, Projection, and Isolation
Social media promotes projective identification, creating unrealistic images of others and oneself.
Large online friend groups can mask underlying social isolation.
question_answer ANECDOTE
Reclaiming Time from Social Media
Karyne Messina's patient quit social media and gained 25-30 hours per week.
He rediscovered his passions for music and art, highlighting the time consumed by social media.
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In this episode Dr. Karyne Messina, a New Books Network host, and Dr. Harry Gill discussed the negative effects of excessive screen time on young adults' mental health and development, emphasizing the importance of face-to-face interactions and shared experiences. They focused on Erik Erickson’s first phase of adulthood which is the Intimacy versus Isolation phase from neuroscience and psychoanalytic perspectives.
Dr. Gill talked about the prefrontal cortex of our brains that continue to wire until age 25. This doesn’t happen in an optimal way when people are passively tuned into screens. He highlighted the importance of connecting with real people versus social media “friends.” He also said that humans are much more prone to isolate as opposed to being in intimate relationships which takes work. He added that meeting on a screen promotes pseudo intimacy that is not an adequate substitute for being with a real person.
Dr. Messina discussed a study that found adults who spend 6 hours a day or more on social media platforms tend to be much more depressed and anxious. She also mentioned that one of her middle-aged patients who gave up all social media activity, realized much to his surprise that he had 25 to 30 extra hours a week to do things he really enjoyed.
They both talked about the benefits of turning off phones and televisions early in the evening so that a person, couple or family can have quality time participating in some type of meaningful activity versus watching or reading what people on screens are saying or doing. The also discussed how blue light emitted by screens interferes with the production of melatonin which prevents people from falling asleep.
Another topic included was ways to mitigate problems associated with too much screen time. Dr. Messina focused on the importance of community which she thinks is important at all ages. If getting together in person isn’t possible, talking with a friend on the phone is better than using this device for passive purposes such as scrolling through social media posts. Dr. Gill reminded people how important it is to meet in person and said some of his patients have actually enjoyed going back to work full-time once they got used to it again.
New Books in Science, Technology, and Society