Parents may start grinding their teeth when thinking about feasible ways to prevent their kids from getting addicted to social media.
Tel Aviv University’s Maurice and Gabriela Goldschleger School of Dental Medicine carried out a new study claiming that the excessive time spent on social media or on mobile phones leads to an increased chance of pain in jaw and mouth-muscles, teeth-grinding, sleep problems, fatigue and drowsiness during the day.
About 600 participants participated in the study which included secular Jews (mostly smartphone users) and a group of ultra-Orthodox Israelis (those who use a phone without an internet connection).
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Dr. Pessia Friedman-Rubin and Prof. Ilana Eli, who helped conduct the study, explained that “In today’s day and age people live with a sense of FOMO (fear of missing out) and so they want to stay constantly updated and know ‘what’s new’ every moment. This need naturally creates a growing dependence on cell phones, which leads to feelings of stress and anxiety – ‘someone might write something on social media, and I’ll miss it and not be in the loop.’”
Other reports confirm that a “a mental health pandemic of depression, substance abuse, post-traumatic stress and even suicide” are among side effects of the coronavirus pandemic.
It looks like having a smartphone isn’t a smart move.
Maybe we should just lock women in cages?