The physical and mental consequences of the pervasive role of technology found in the college lifestyle
Wyatt Smith
Features Editor
Much of college life — studying, writing, researching and relaxing — revolves around computers. College students spend roughly eight and a half hours a day on the computer, according to a 2006 article in the National Association of Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education Journal. All of this time spent staring at a screen can influence one’s physical and mental health.
This article is not about the all-too-common laments of how technology is undermining interpersonal interaction and the very fabric of society. Such naysaying is endlessly subjective and often unfounded.
Rather, the focus here is about objective, empirically supported information on how computers — as well as other recently developed forms of technology — influence one’s well-being.
A few years ago, a spat of scientific research on the dangers of a sedentary lifestyle caught the attention of the mainstream media. One of the more commonly cited studies was by an Australian research team led by Dr. Hidde van der Ploeg. Using longitudinal survey data from over 200,000 adult subjects, van der Ploeg and company found that sitting too much accounts for almost seven percent of deaths, mostly due to reduced metabolic activity. This finding was independent of physical activity and the Body Mass Index, meaning spending too much time sitting down has negative health effects even for people who exercise regularly.
The risks associated with a sedentary lifestyle relate directly to computer usage because time spent using electronics is a strong indicator of how much one sits. In a study published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, the authors even viewed time spent sitting and time spent in front of a screen as more or less synonymous.
This second study, led by Dr. Emmanuel Stamatakis of University College London, looked at recreational screen usage independent of other factors, including physical activity and use of computers at work. The researchers found that those who spent over four hours on computers recreationally were 48 percent more likely to die and 125 percent more likely to have a cardiovascular-related event (such as heart attacks, strokes, etc.) over the course of the study than those who spent less than two hours on screens. The results of this article demonstrate that choices people make in their leisure time can greatly influence their health even if they sit while at work.
Computer usage can also have deleterious effects on eyesight. According to a 2005 review article in the journal Survey of Ophthalmology, vision issues are the most common computer-related health problem. Common symptoms include eye strain, irritation, burning sensation, redness, blurred vision and double vision. These problems are often worse for people who wear contacts. However, the researchers said that these symptoms are temporary and can often be prevented by occasionally looking away from the screen.
Extended computer usage can affect not only one’s body, but also the mind. Researchers at the Sahlgrenska Academy and University Hospital tracked the mental health of Swedish college students over the course of a year. They found that intensive computer use and constant text messaging were correlated with perceived stress and depression. Many other studies corroborate these results, although few successfully establish causation. It could very well be that stressed and depressed individuals use computers more, instead of computers causing these mental health problems.
Not all research is wholly negative. A group of California State University researchers, led by Dr. Larry D. Rosen, found mixed psychological effects of computer and social media usage in their adult American sample. For instance, use of social media was linked to narcissism, while number of Facebook friends was inversely correlated with depression. Furthermore, the study found no link between occupational/educational uses of computers and negative psychological effects.
In an August article in the magazine “Entrepreneur,” Dr. Rosen recommends taking short breaks from computers every 90 minutes and setting limits on how often one checks social media to combat the negative psychological effects.