Your Smartphone Might Be Giving You ADHD, Here’s What You Need to Know

 The notion that children can somehow stop experiencing the symptoms of ADHD as they get on in years has been thoroughly debunked by science, but in spite of the fact that this is the case, there is a chance that smartphones might actually be giving adults ADHD without them even realizing it. This type of disorder usually originates in children under the age of 12, but it seems as though smartphones are causing adults to develop the symptoms related to it as well with all things having been considered and taken into account.

It bears mentioning that the symptoms can look rather different in adults than they do for children, with anger management issues, excessive restlessness, low self esteem, trouble with relationships, a lack of time management skills and many others factoring into the mix. With all of that having been said and now out of the way, it is important to note that the proportion of adults with ADHD was around 6.3% in 2020, which is a significant uptick from the 4.4% that had been diagnosed with it in 2003.

According to research that was published in the journal known as Journal of the American Medical Association, the use of digital media can actually increase the likelihood of an ADHD diagnosis by as much as 10%. What's more is that adults are often required to multitask at this current point in time, which can be harmful because of the fact that this is the sort of thing that could potentially end up pulling their minds in too many different directions at once.

There is now considerable clinical evidence pointing to the reality that using too much technology can lead to ADHD symptoms down the line. Of course, there is also the chance that they might be caused by hormonal changes or a wide range of other unrelated circumstances, but the connection between ADHD and digital media consumption as well as smartphone usage can’t be ignored. It will be interesting to see where things go from here on out, since the findings presented in this research point to something extremely pertinent to modern life.

Photo: Digital Information World - AIgen

Gamers Are More Likely to Suffer Hearing Loss, Here’s Why

 A new study, titled "Risk of sound-induced hearing loss from exposure to video gaming or esports: a systematic scoping review", published in BMJ health has found that gamers have an above average risk of suffering from hearing loss or tinnitus in the long term. This is the result of them playing video games for several hours at a time with the noise level being turned up far past safe levels for human beings with all things having been considered and taken into account.

According to the World Health Organization, a noise level of 80 decibels for forty hours per week is relatively safe. In spite of the fact that this is the case, any minor excess to this safe level results in an exponential increase in the likelihood of harm being done. 90 decibel sounds are only safe for four hours a week, and 95 decibels for just one hour and fifteen minutes.

With all of that having been said and now out of the way, it is important to note that the noise level in four shooting games that were analyzed as part of this study hovered between 88.5 decibels and 91.2 decibels. This is the average noise level, and gamers also experience short bursts of up to 119 decibels as well.

The duration of this exposure may result in irreversible damage to their hearing, which is why it’s so important to intervene and inform. It bears mentioning that this study is based on self reported data which goes back to the 1990s, and games weren’t the same back then. However, it’s difficult to deny that a correlation exists between extended gaming sessions and various kinds of hearing loss and tinnitus.

The way to prevent this damage is by encouraging keep volumes down to reasonable levels instead of pushing the sound to the max. We might start to see a widespread epidemic of hearing loss, especially given how loud music can get at concerts, and with gaming now also added to the mix it is more important than ever to educate people on the long term effects of noise exposure. More evidence will also need to be collected in order to verify the theories presented in the paper.