Smartphone Pinky, Gamer’s Thumb and social contagion – injuries and psychological disorders related to technology are increasing. Explore how new media has changed us physically, mentally and socially.
On average, we spend two and a half hours on social media (SoMe) per day. Scrolling and swiping through pictures, videos and texts, however, can have a detrimental effect on mental health. But even our physiology is affected by the many ways we use modern technologies in our daily lives. During the COVID-19 pandemic, our lives were pushed further into digital realms, as we had to rely on SoMe to stay in touch with friends and loved ones. Platforms like TikTok were among the economic winners of the pandemic, as their share of users exploded during lockdowns and quarantines. Meanwhile, the increase in media consumption comes with several repercussions on body, mind and soul – let’s explore these three aspects.
Our neck muscles ache from constant phone usage. When staring down at our phones, we angle our heads at around 33–45°. The weight that the spine and muscles have to hold at this flexion is significantly more compared to a neutral position of the head (12 kg vs. 4.5–5.5). Users who often look down at their phones are prone to develop neck pain from the constant activation of neck muscles. Based on a study investigating the effect of different angles, physicians should recommend patients with these symptoms sit more upright and try to tilt their heads less when scrolling.
But there’s more than just neck pain: Have you encountered the dreaded Smartphone pinky? It’s the painful result of a common posture – holding the smartphone in one hand, supporting it with the pinky from below. This can result in inflamed tendons or cause the finger to painfully lock. If patients present with these symptoms, healthcare providers can recommend using both hands to hold their phones. Other injuries that can come with an overenjoyment of technology are Gamer’s thumb, a common description for tenosynovitis from excessive usage of the thumb during gaming, and mouse arm (also known as tennis elbow) from repetitive movement while working at a computer.
The hand’s anatomy isn’t fit for the overexertion of only one finger or a single motion that is repeated over and over again. Hence why an article published in The Guardian even suggests that new motion patterns of the hand will ultimately lead to us having different hands, as they will adapt to the new requirements. However, patients might be able to avoid the selfie stick for an arm if repetitive movements are minimized and if the phone is put aside once in a while to focus on real life.
Influencers with seemingly perfect lives gather millions of followers around them. But tread carefully: Heavily edited pictures with perfect lighting do not display reality and lead to an unachievable ideal that people might – unsuccessfully – strive for. A study showed that regular usage of platforms like TikTok or Instagram led to an increase in mental disorders. Especially during the pandemic, children and young adults spent more time on SoMe, which correlated with increased numbers of reported mental health issues.
Luckily, there are even more online personalities you can follow for that: mental health influencers! They open up about their struggles, breaking taboos and destigmatizing mental disorders. While they create awareness for mental health problems, they also seem to be causing a “run” on psychiatric services. Short videos titled “The ADHD starter pack” (@cobywattsmusic on Instagram) or popular clips of people baking while displaying Tourette’s-like tics lead other users to self-diagnose with mental disorders. Individuals even display functional tic-like behaviors (FTLBs) that can be mistaken for Tourette’s-Syndrom. When diagnosing mental disorders, it is crucial to take a closer look and distinguish between the two. Especially a patient’s history (i. e. when did symptoms start?) and usage of SoMe can reveal the true origin of a presumed disorder. Researchers suggest the increase in symptoms of mental disorders might be a result of social contagion. Seeing influencers being successful even though or maybe especially because they have a mental disorder might raise a wish for the same.
Facebook, Instagram and TikTok alter our social lives. For many, superficial online-friendship seem to be exchanged for followers and likes, along with a constant striving for popularity. UK scientists analyzed how online presence can have an impact on the way we make friends – and revealed how loneliness correlated with social media usage. Their results suggest that you have to play the SoMe game to take part in society, as a “successful” and public profile can have a positive effect on making friends. In turn, individuals with non-public SoMe profiles or no profile at all could have more difficulties making friends. An individual’s “performance” on SoMe could determine how many friends they have in real life which directly affects mental health.
Your patients’ online behavior might offer insight into how to prevent them from slipping into potentially harmful patterns that can, ultimately, culminate in depression and other severe mental health issues. This shift in social behavior and interaction should be recognized more, as it holds possibilities for treatments and prevention.
Whichever purpose SoMe is serving for an individual, users should be cautious. Not only can it impair mental health, but excessive phone usage harms our bodies and can even cause chronic conditions. Technology has been a great help during the pandemic and makes all of our lives easier – no doubt about that. But let’s not forget to get out of the house, be social and stretch our muscles on a relaxing walk. Because though social media might be a great way to kill time on the train, it is also a great way to kill our health.
Sources:
J. D. Haltigan, T. M. Pringsheim, G. Rajkumar (2023) Social media as an incubator of personality and behavioral psychopathology: Symptom and disorder authenticity or psychosomatic social contagion?, Comprehensive Psychiatry, Volume 121, February 2023.
L. Thomas, E. Orme, F. Kerrigan (2020) Student Loneliness: The Role of Social Media Through Life Transitions, Computers & Education, Volume 146, March 2020.
E. Bailey et al. (2022) The Mental Health and Social Media Use of Young Australians during the COVID-19 Pandemic, Int J Environ Res Public Health, February 2022.
S. Namwongsa et al. (2019) Effect of neck flexion angles on neck muscle activity among smartphone users with and without neck pain, Ergonomics, September 2019.
Z. Vahedi et al. (2022) Perceived Discomfort, Neck Kinematics, and Muscular Activity During Smartphone Usage: A Comparative Study, Hum Factors, April 2022.
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/may/21/darian-leader-how-technology-changing-our-hands
Image source: Mike Szczepanski, unsplash
