HEALTH NOTE - Excessive Internet Use Disrupts Key Parts Of The Teenage Brain

Beloved,

I wish above all things that thou mayest...be in health...

3 John 1:2

"U.S. teenagers spent an average of 4.8 hours on social media platforms every day, with girls spending an average of 5.3 hours compared to 4.4 hours for boys.

Researchers defined internet addiction as an inability to resist the urge to use the internet, which negatively affects mental well-being, as well as aspects of social, educational, and work life.
All studies reviewed used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to examine how areas of the brain interact with each other (functional connectivity) in participants living with internet addiction while at rest and while completing a task. 

The effects were seen throughout multiple regions of the adolescent brain.

The studies showed a mixture of increased and decreased activity in parts of the brain that are activated during rest, along with an overall

decrease in functional connectivity in parts of the brain used in active thinking.
The findings indicate these changes lead to addictive behaviors and tendencies in adolescents and behavioral changes associated with intellectual ability, physical coordination, and mental health and development.
Researchers split the students into smaller groups according to how often they reported checking their Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat feeds.
The habitual user group members checked their feeds 15 or more times daily, moderate users between one and 14 times, and nonhabitual users less than once daily.
The findings indicate that teens who grow up checking social media more often become hypersensitive to feedback from other kids. They also experience fewer or less intense positive feelings from previously rewarding stimuli, which could drive them to pursue more potent feelings through increased reward-seeking behavior." ZeroHedge