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Surge in 'Digital Dementia'

Keeping children active results in happier, healthier adults

Doctors in South Korea are reporting a surge in ‘digital dementia’ among young people who have become so reliant on electronic devices that they can no longer remember every day details like their phone numbers.

Digital Dementia is a deterioration in cognitive abilities that is commonly seen in people who have suffered a head injury or psychiatric illness.

“Over-use of smartphones and game devices hampers the balanced development of the brain,” says Dr Byun Gi-won, of the Balance Brain Centre in Seoul. “Heavy users are likely to develop the left side of their brains, leaving the right side untapped or underdeveloped.”

The right side of the brain is linked with concentration and its failure to develop will affect attention and memory span. Sufferers also report emotional underdevelopment with children more at risk than adults because their brains are still growing.

The situation is worsening because children aged between 10 and 19 who use their smartphones for more than seven hours a day has leapt to 18% from 11% last year.

This has important links to the destructive use of marijuana by 15-25 year olds whose brains and neurological hardware is still developing.

The brains of children are changing on a daily basis and parents witness this often when a child can suddenly do or say something that they couldn’t do even a week before.

Brains grow and develop in response to the stimulus they receive. Show children books and keep them active and they will read earlier and more proficiently. This is more than just learning though it is the brain laying down interactive and interlinked nerve pathways that allow complex thought and subconscious emotional interactions. This results in a happier, healthier and more talented child – and ultimately adult.

Chiropractic care is focused on repair and retraining of the nervous system. Nervous systems that have not formed properly are probably more likely to create ‘misfires’ and this unusual nerve firing pattern can affect physical ability, likelihood of injury and poor health in general.

The underlying computer software of your body is an important key to good health. Have it checked regularly, children too.

1 Join the Conversation

  1. Cate Galwey says
    Sep 18, 2015 at 4:38 PM

    I have forwarded this information to the parents of my grandchildren, although I think they are wise enough anyway to prevent it this happening in their families.

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