Fellow teenagers, now is the time for us to limit our screen time

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[Commentary] Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter are just a few of my favorite things. These Web sites and apps help me keep in touch with my friends and family, find out what interesting events are going on and see and share photographs within my social circle.

There couldn’t possibly be anything wrong with that, can there? For a long time, I believed the answer to be no.

However, the more time I spent online -- to socialize, not study -- the less sleep I received, and the worse I felt. I was moody and tired, and focusing on classroom lectures and interactions became increasingly difficult, particularly after spending hours online on my computer or on my iPhone. I began to wonder whether or not there could be a relationship between the hours I spent using recreational screen time and the negative effects it had the next day at school. To answer my question, I dove into neuroscience research.

[Rahman, 17, is a finalist in the Intel Science Talent Search 2014]

[March 7]


Fellow teenagers, now is the time for us to limit our screen time