Doctors: Excessive scrolling on social media can have negative impact on brain health
Recent research found teens who spent more than three hours a day on social media had double the risk of depression.
More Stories
Mounting research shows spending hours a day mindlessly scrolling through social media can have a negative impact on brain health. It's so common that "brain rot" is Oxford's word of the year.
Doctors say consuming long stretches of low quality content online can contribute to cognitive decline, brain fog and shorten attention span.
Stamford Health's Dr. Raviv Berlin says too much time online can also contribute to depression due to loneliness, a lack of meaningful connections, and feelings that your life doesn't measure up to the content you're seeing from others.
"No one is posting 'I just got in trouble with my boss' on social media. They're posting their fabulous vacation that they took. So, when you're scrolling through social media, you're not getting a full picture of people's lives. You're seeing, in some ways, unachievable greatness," he said.
Recent research found teens who spend more than three hours a day on social media had double the risk of depression. Dr. Berlin says excessive time online can impact mental health for people of all ages.
"If you notice you're spending hours and hours on social media and you're finding it hard to disconnect, especially if you're spending time on social media late at night and it's impacting your sleep, you need to set limits," he said.
