When COVID hit and the world shut down, screens basically became our lifeline. Work, school, news, Netflix, Zoom hangouts – everything happened through a screen. But did that actually help us cope, or just stress us out even more?
Researchers launched an online survey called “What media helps, what media hurts?” to see how people’s screen habits changed during lockdown and how it tied into their stress levels.
The study found:
- Men tended to feel less strongly about whether media was good or bad.
- People with good mental health were better at tuning out the noise.
- But too much screen time still took a toll on everyone, no matter what.
So yeah — next time you find yourself on your 6th straight episode or deep in a TikTok rabbit hole, maybe hit pause. Your brain might need a break, even if you don’t realize it yet.
