SUMMARY EXERCISE
Screens Did What?!
Warning: Excessive screen time may be hazardous to your child’s health.
From TVs to tablets, nearly half of our kids’ waking hours are spent on digital media, and their addiction
grows along with them. While toddlers log about five hours of digital media every day, that amount
increases to a whopping nine hours once they’re in their teens.
All that screen time means they’re sitting still instead of moving around. In fact, digital activities take up
roughly 60% of kids’ “play time.” And studies have shown that sitting for too long is very bad for all of
us. Inactivity doesn’t just lead to weight gain, but also a dangerous cluster of symptoms that include
increased blood pressure, cholesterol and blood sugar levels. Why? Working the muscles that keep
you standing seems to help the body break down fats and sugars and ward off health risks. Too much
sitting — that is, more than four hours a day — increases the risk of cardiovascular disease by 125%.
Those studies involved adults, so we don’t really know just how much all that passive screen time
affects our kids over the long haul. But their digital addiction is harming them in the here and now. And
we’re not just talking eye strain, disrupted sleep patterns or the constant distraction that ups the risk of
trips and falls. Welcome to a whole new generation of digital illnesses…
Another problem is text claw. It’s not an official medical diagnosis yet, but anyone who’s spent enough
time texting, typing or web browsing knows that the repetitive fine motor activity can cause feelings of
soreness and cramping in the wrist and forearm. There’s also a more localised version known as
smartphone pinky that results from using your little finger to support the weight of your phone. The
result is pain and an unsightly indentation between the first and second joints. Not pretty.
But the worst of the ailments is text neck, which has also been dubbed iPosture or iHunch. It’s the
discomfort in the neck and spine that happens when you spend too much time hunched over your
devices. The slouched look is cool for boots and winter hats, but the angle at which our big heads tilt
downward places about 60 pounds of extra stress on the neck, equal to five gallons of paint. One
physiotherapist told The New York Times that he’s now seeing “dowager” humps, where the upper
back becomes set in a forward curve, in our perennially stooping teens. And size matters. The smaller
the device, the more you shrink and contort your body to use it. iPosture can also affect moods and
minds: Studies have shown that slouchers have lower self-esteem and are less productive.
Last but not least, there’s a newly identified, clinically documented, increasingly common illness —
digital motion sickness, aka cybersickness. When we view moving, action-packed digital content, or
even when quickly scrolling on our smart phones, there’s a sensory conflict between our eyes and
bodies, which don’t feel the movement. The result of that disconnect? Headaches and wooziness.
Researchers say up to 80% of people show such symptoms, and that females are more susceptible
than males. And the aftereffects can linger: A teen who plays a virtual reality game or spends a long
session scrolling on his phone could, say, get behind the wheel of a car and have balance and vision
impairments similar to being drunk.
Taken from https://journal.thriveglobal.com/omg-screens-did-what-91f9c8b685f7
Instructions:
You have been asked to address your peers regarding the effects of excessive screen-time. Summarise the
relevant content in the text above.
Your summary should be in paragraph form.
Include 7 relevant facts.
Your summary does not need a heading.
You may not use more than 90 words.
Include your word count at the end of your summary.
It is imperative that you use your own words. (10)
