Face to Face. EN

In 2007 iPhone first appeared, bringing an incredible technology to the world. It‘s a fantastic device, I have to say. But from that moment depression and anxiety have soared specially in the developed countries.

There are still no causal evidence between use of mobile devices and mental problems, but there is a strong correlational link.(1)

You can think this is just a young‘s people problem, but I would recommend you to make an audit on your phone‘s use. There are apps to do it, like „Moment“.

I bet you use your phone between 2 and 4 hours per day.

If we take TV and computer into account the amount of time spend in front of a screen is brutal. American adults, for example, spend over 11 hours per day consuming media from electronic devices(2)

According to research from Paul Lee from the Chinese University of Hong Kong, face to face conversations have a direct possitive impact on people‘s quality of life. But Internet conversations don‘t. (3)

Do you want lower your anxiety and depression risk? Put your phone out of reach for two hours every day. Be face to face with friends, family and colleages. And have a positive conversation. 

Professor Louis Appleby „A national investigation into suicide by children and young people“, University of manchester, 2017

eMarketer‘s latest report „US time spent in Media: eMarketer‘s Updated Estimated and Forecast for 2014-2019“

Lee, Paul & Leung, Louis & Lo, Ven-Hwei & Xiong, Chengyu & Wu, Tingjun. (2011). Internet Communication versus Face-to-face Interaction in Quality of life. Social Indicators research. 100. 375-389. 10.1007/s11205-010-9618-3