Hypothesis

We think that if people spend more time on screens, then they will have a hard time focusing on other tasks and will feel negatively about themselves.

Studies have shown that these are some psychological effects that could happen

1. Negative body image

2. Social media use promotes thinness

3. Comments that promote ideal body types

4. Depression

5. Researchers found a link between time spent on social media and depression symptoms Studies have shown that these are some physical effects that could happen

   1. Eyestrain
   2. Excessive screen time can lead to eyestrain
   3. Symptoms include dry, tired eyes and headaches
   4. Sleep problems
   5. Screen time at night can interfere with sleep
   6. Alternatives are reading a book or taking a bath
   7. Physical activities 
   8. Time spent on screens is usually spent sitting

   9. The other side of technology is that it can help people exercise and keep them motivated Studies have shown that these are some social effects that could happen

      1. Social effects of technology
      2. Younger people feel more socially isolated with higher social media use
      3. Older adults have a decreased feeling of isolation
      4. “8 negative effects of technology“ https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/negative-effects-of-technologyBy Jon Johnson and Amy Murnan

Our variables are:

1. The time that kids spend on their tech. 2. The way kids feel about themselves. 3. Memory in kids\, specifically visual/verbal memory

We showed our classmates 15 words and asked them to remember them. Then we gave them a questionnaire to see how much time they spend on screens. We also asked them to tell us how they felt about themselves and if they compared themselves to people they see on social media.

After they were done, we asked them to recall the words and wrote down how many words they remembered.

Later we tallied how much time the kids we surveyed spend on tech dividing them up in 1-2 hour, 2-3 hours, 3-4 hours and more than 4 hours. Eventually, we looked to see if there is a correlation between time spend on tech and how many words they remembered and how they feel about themselves.

Experiment Results

We found out that the people in the 2-3 hrs group had the most people in their group, also remembered the most words and had the most reactions to all the questions. Part of our results made us thinking why was the 2-3 hrs group have a lot of responses? Now it’s time for our results, our results are:

• 2-3 hour group remembered an average of  9 words.
• 1-2 hour group remembered an average of 7 words.
• +4 hour group remembered an average of 6 words.
• 3-4 hour group remembered an average of 4 words.

• <1 hour group remembered an average of 6 words.

  Percentage of screen time * 35.7% of the Girls use 2-3 hrs of screen time * 21.4% of the Girls use 1-2 hrs of screen time * 14.3% of the Girls use 4+ hrs of screen time * 14.3% of the Girls use 3-4 hrs of screen time * 14.3% of the Girls use <1 hr of screen time.

  Feelings after screen time * <1 hr: 1 Girl reported feeling happy and 1 Girl reported feeling sad/upset * 1-2 hrs: 1 Girl reported feeling happy and 2 Girls reported feeling okay * 2-3 hrs: 1 Girl reported feeling happy and 4 Girls reported feeling okay * 3-4 hrs: 2 Girls reported feeling happy * 4+ hrs: 1 Girl reported feeling happy 1 Girl reported feeling okay

  Confidence based on screen time * <1 hr: 1 Girl reported confident and 1 Girl reported somewhat confident * 1-2 hrs: 2 Girls reported confident and 1 Girl reported very confident * 2-3 hrs: 3 Girls reported confident and 1 Girl reported somewhat confident and 1 very confident * 3-4 hrs: 2 Girls reported confident * 4+ hrs: 2 Girls reported not confident and 1 Girl reported somewhat confident

Students who compare themselves with people on technology

• <1 hr 1 Girl reported nope and 1 Girl sometimes
• 1-2 hrs 3 Girls reported nope
• 2-3 hrs 2 Girls reported nope and 3 Girls reported sometimes
• 3-4 hrs 2 Girls reported nope
• 4+ hrs 1 Girl reported sometimes and 1 Girl yes

We were unable to proof that our hypothesis is completely correct. It seems that girls that use less screen time feel better about themselves, but memory was not better if they used less screen time.

For memory: The results of our experiment show that the girls that used technology for 2-3 hours a day were best able to remember the words. Girls that used technology less time, were not able to remember better. 

For self-confidence and feelings of happiness: Girls that used technology in moderation 2-3 hours a day were most confident of themselves but also compared themselves the most to people on social media. Interestingly, the girls that spend 1-2 hours or 3-4 hours were the happiest.

Based on our experiment, spending more time on screens seems to neither be correlated to worse memory nor bad self-image, nor does more screen time seem to cause bad memory or a bad self-image.

Parents always tell us not to spend time on screens and to read a book because that will make us smarter and feel better about ourselves as we do not compare ourselves to someone on Youtube. But the amount of time you spend on screens doesn't necessarily matter. We can now bring science to our parents and tell them that we think it is not how long we’re using screens that matters but what you do on the screen that will have an impact on our memory and self-confidence.

Possible reasons for results being inconclusive or wrong are linked to the four sources of errors:

1. Human Error: Sometimes people aren't fully truthful with their answers
2. Procedural (Size Sample): we only tested 14 people
3. Instrumental (Questionnaire and Experiment Set-up): We were going to let the girls watch a video and then recount the words, but we were unable to do that and had to rely on self-reporting. 
4. Environmental (Bad Timing): We tested during lunch so some people where rushed so it was harder for them to focus on the questions we set up for them.

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/negative-effects-of-technology#psychological-effects

Negative body image:

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2352250X21002414 One of the most well-studied effects of social media use is on body image, or how satisfied a person is with their appearance. A 2022 review notes that image-based social media platforms have a stronger association with a negative body image than text-based platforms, {...}

Depression:

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/S10802-020-00715-7: A 2021 review of past research found a weak but significant association between time spent on social media and depression symptoms. However, there was a stronger link between problematic social media use and depression. This suggests people using social media in less healthy ways could be more at risk for depression.

https://www.ajpmonline.org/article/S0749-3797(17)30016-8/abstract: A 2017 study of young adults in the United States ages 19 to 32 years found that those with higher social media use were more than three times as likely to feel socially isolated than those who did not use it as often.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352827321002950 However, a 2022 review of past studies found that knowing how to use technologies such as instant messaging apps decreased feelings of isolation in older adults.

Memory:

https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0213995#sec011: Increased screen-time in pre-school is associated with worse inattention problems.

https://www.neurocenternj.com/blog/digital-dementia-how-screens-and-digital-devices-impact-memory/ The rapid advancement of technology has had a profound impact on attention spans and mental activity. A study by Microsoft found that attention spans have decreased from 12 seconds in 2000 to less than 8 seconds in 2013, which is shorter than the attention span of a goldfish. This decrease has been attributed to the constant use of digital devices and the constant bombardment of information.

Negative Impact on Memory Task

https://www.neurocenternj.com/blog/digital-dementia-how-screens-and-digital-devices-impact-memory/ Chronic sensory overstimulation from excessive screen time can also result in memory and concentration problems. The constant bombardment of information and stimuli can overwhelm the brain, leading to difficulties in processing and retaining information. Moreover, the reliance on smartphones for information retrieval can contribute to forgetfulness, as individuals may rely on their devices to store and access information, rather than relying on their own memory.

We like to thank our classmates who participated in our experiment, our teachers, especially Ms. Phillips for helping us and supporting us and our parents.