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Namita Thapar
Addressing the crucial intersection of mental health and social media overexposure, Emcure Pharmaceuticals CEO, Namita Thapar, quoted on Linkedin “May is mental awareness month & overuse of phone is slowly killing our brain. I’ve personally been working on phone detox .. when I heard that I will be spending 20 years of my life on the phone it shocked a person like me who works so hard on my time management, productivity skills, mindfulness ..Math is simple: 6hrs per day = one fourth of my day, so one fourth of my life is 20 years !!!!..Such a waste, so let’s commit to changing our habits today”
The persuasive use of social media is a chief colossal concern for cognitive health.
A report rolled out by Harmony Healthcare IT has revealed that an average person spends 4 hours and 37 minutes on their phone every day hich is equivalent to over 1 day per week or 6 days per month.
Current Global Demography of Social Media Users
A comprehensive study conducted by the team at Kepios shows that there were 5.41 billion social media users around the world at the start of July 2025, equating to 65.7 percent of the total global population.
The latest figures indicate that 95.7 percent of the world’s internet users regardless of age now use social media each month.
According to a survey conducted by National Health Library, students with higher levels of smartphone addiction reported heightened negative emotions, leading to more pessimistic coping strategies and, ultimately, a decline in mental health and life satisfaction.
Escalating dependency on digital devices is leading to increased user adoption and a surge in daily screen time.
The study further highlighted that uncurbed screen time can hinder sleep, especially when looking at screens late at night.
Light from the screen can delay melatonin release from the brain’s pineal gland, impacting the body’s natural circadian rhythm and causing difficulty sleeping.
Neuroscience of Screen Time: How Your Brain Responds to Overexposure
Additional studies by IMF Press highlighted that adults who engage in excessive screen time or have a diagnosed smartphone addiction had lower gray matter volume.
Gray matter is brain tissue essential for daily human functioning and is responsible for everything from movement to memory to emotions.
Since gray matter naturally declines with age, it's imperative to limit screen time and support brain health through exercise, quality sleep, social interaction, and stress management.
“The negative effects of screen time are insidious because you can’t see what’s happening in your brain as you’re staring at the screen,” says Maris Loeffler, MA, Family and Marriage Therapist, member of the Stanford Lifestyle Medicine Cognitive Enhancement pillar.
One of the biggest issues with picking up the phone right away in the morning is that when you have an object close to your face, it’s registered as a threat,” says Loeffler. “You wouldn’t want to wake up and look a bear in the face every morning. On a physiological level, it’s the same thing.
Passive screen time is like eating sugar but for your brain. It ‘tastes’ good, and you want it now, but you’re not actually feeding yourself.
You’re not giving your brain any nutrition,” says Loeffler. “Instead, replace screen time with an intentional healthy habit that feeds your brain in a healthy way.
Lifestyle medicine activities, like exercise, good sleep, social connection, and stress management, function like ‘nutrition’ for your brain and mental health.
She further added that constant digital distractions are causing detrimental effects on real life relationships and responsibilities. It is wrecking the foundation of human bond.
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