Adults and teens concerned about their screen time are turning in their smartphones for “dumber” models.

Buried in the settings of many smartphones is the option to look up how much on average you are staring at your phone per day.

It can bring an uncomfortable realisation, that what was supposed to be a useful piece of technology has become an obsession.

According to a study by Harvard University, using social networking sites lights up the same part of the brain that is also triggered when taking an addictive substance. This has raised concerns about phone habits among youth.

In the UK, research by Ofcom estimates that around a quarter of children aged five to seven years old now have their own smartphone.

Links have been shown in some studies between use of social media and a negative effect on mental health - especially in children.

  • Q*Bert Reynolds
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    2219 days ago

    The 35k comments in 11 months says otherwise.

    • Flying Squid
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      719 days ago

      You mean the comments I make while sitting at a computer? The comments I make because I am seriously ill and not working and have very low energy and thus are not able to do much else?

      Sorry my wanting to have the small amount of human contact I have outside my own family on a daily basis is so offensive to you.

      • Q*Bert Reynolds
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        2719 days ago

        Didn’t say it was offensive. Just pointing out that you are, in fact, using a lot of social media.

        • @[email protected]
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          619 days ago

          no one thinks you said it was offensive, but you sure were flippant/“gotcha“ about it.

          • Q*Bert Reynolds
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            -119 days ago

            OP absolutely thought so. Their exact words were “Sorry my wanting to have the small amount of human contact I have outside my own family on a daily basis is so offensive to you.”.

            That’s not even what I was implying. I don’t care how much someone uses social media. I saw a comment on a social media platform about not using social media and couldn’t help but roll my eyes. Then I clicked their profile and saw that they’re averaging more than 100 comments a day for almost a year.

            Was it flippant? Absolutely. Was it a gotcha moment? Maybe, but only in the sense that I was planning on pointing out the hypocrisy in implying they don’t use social media on a social media platform, and instead found the exact kind of social media addict that the article describes

            • @[email protected]
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              19 days ago

              You should probably rethink how you communicate if you have to write all of this just to try and prove you were not being rude/kind of a jerk.

              • Q*Bert Reynolds
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                -319 days ago

                If anything I need to rethink how I communicate that I’m not offended by people using social media, but I am offended by hypocrisy. I thought for sure that’s what I typed out. I don’t care that it came off as rude.

        • Aniki 🌱🌿
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          119 days ago

          Message boards are not social media no matter what the revisionists say. They are wrong.

        • Flying Squid
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          -619 days ago

          I never said I wasn’t. So it sounds to me more like you wanted to point it out for another reason.

          • Q*Bert Reynolds
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            619 days ago

            You caught me. I’m biased against people who play Word Cookies.

            • Flying Squid
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              419 days ago

              People sure seem hell-bent on giving me shit on a regular basis for posting a lot, so I’m sorry if I assumed that was your intent.

              • @[email protected]
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                619 days ago

                I think you may have flown off the handle a little bit but I definitely got a “gotcha“ vibe out of their comment so I don’t blame you for being irritated

                • Flying Squid
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                  219 days ago

                  Thanks, and yeah, I woke up irritable. Sorry.

                  • @Aurenkin
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                    619 days ago

                    I definitely see a lot of comments from you on the various communities I’m subbed to. I think it’s great because I like reading comments so you do you.

              • @[email protected]
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                419 days ago

                FWIW I think the quality of your posts is noteworthy, so the quantity is a good thing.

          • @[email protected]
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            -119 days ago

            Man, you really blew the fuck up over a tiny comment. Is this why you have zero social contact? Because youre an asshole?

            • Flying Squid
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              319 days ago

              Maybe that’s why or maybe because people are constantly giving me shit for posting a lot. Or maybe both.

              You are certainly free to think I’m an asshole and people are right to not spend time with me if you wish.