From Instagram and Netflix to online classes and virtual gaming, teenagers today have countless reasons to stay glued to their smartphones. However, a recent study offers compelling reasons to reconsider this constant connectivity. A study published in the journal PLOS Mental Health reveals that excessive internet use is actually reshaping adolescent brains, increasing their vulnerability to addictive behaviours.
How is this happening? Let’s dive deeper into the findings. Being addicted to the internet The study revealed that teenagers addicted to the internet experience “significant” disruptions in regions of the brain involved in active thinking. Researchers Max Chang and Irene Lee of University College London analysed 12 neuroimaging studies conducted between 2013 and 2022 which involved 237 adolescents aged 10 to 19 who were medically diagnosed with internet addiction.
It is defined as an inability to resist the urge to use the internet to the extent it negatively impacts their well-being, as well as their social, academic, and professional lives. They discovered notable differences. When participants with internet addiction engaged in activities governed by the brain’s executive function network—such as behaviours requiring attention, planning, decision-making, and impulse control—those brain regions showed substantial disruption in their ability to work together, compared to their peers without internet addiction.
Dr Praveen Gupta, principal director of neur.