Less time in front of screens, more happiness for young people
Happiness is a state of mind that everyone aspires to reach. Grandparents, children, seniors and young people. Everyone likes to feel this good and there are many ways to get it. Since creating a pleasant environment for the developing of all the members of the household, until reaching an objective, a fixed goal. Another option is to move away from the screens and focus more on the real world.
This is reflected in a study prepared by Monitoring Future, that through a longitudinal survey has been measuring the impact of the expansion of new technologies in the new generations. An investigation that showed how in the 90s the level of self-esteem in the youngest grew until 2012, when they experienced a drastic decline.
Arrival of the smpartphones
What happened so that from 2012 Will this drop in young people's self-esteem be observed? The researchers highlight that in this year 50% of Americans, the country in which this study was conducted, already had a smartphone. Something that made new generations develop other types of activities such as spending time on social networks, text messaging or gaming applications.
The increase in these activities led to the decline of other practices such as sports, physical interpersonal interaction, performance of duties or participation in activities within their community. The results of the study showed that the group of adolescents with the highest level of unhappiness was the one who consumed more than twenty hours of screens a week.
On the other hand, the group that showed the greatest personal satisfaction was that they had a physical interaction above the average and a use of social networks below the average. The authors of this study indicate that these results do not mean that there is a direct cause-effect nexus between happiness and the use of new technologies, but a correlation that should be taken into account by families when organizing the leisure activities of their children.
Benefits of outdoor activities
This study once again highlights the advantages of the activities fresh air instead of betting on a more sedentary lifestyle. The following benefits are indicated from the National Center for Physical Development:
- It makes children get fit, which makes them prevent health problems arising from overweight and sedentary lifestyle.
- Your immune system is favored by exposure to external agents, which helps the development of antibodies that will help prevent diseases.
- They know the world around them, which helps them to improve their vocabulary (they learn to name new objects) and their culture.
- Reduces stress levels. Being out of the four walls, anxiety is lowered. An open and green environment always helps to reduce these tensions.
Damián Montero
