Research Project

Unplugged is a discussion about the importance of outdoor play and the negative effects of excessive screen time. The host shares personal experiences of spending too much time on video games during quarantine. He also discusses how COVID-19 has led to increased screen time and decreased outdoor activities for both children and the elderly. Studies show a correlation between being indoors and depression. Work and technology addiction are also factors that keep people indoors. The host emphasizes the benefits of spending time in nature and highlights the need to find a balance between technology use and outdoor activities. Parents' concerns for their children's safety contribute to the decrease in outdoor play. and parental fears around safety. This is Unplugged, and I'm your host, Majeeder Mohamed, joining you for a thoughtful discussion about reconnecting with simple outdoor play and what we lose when kids stay shut inside. During quarantine, what was your favorite thing to do? I loved playing on my Xbox, especially with this new game that came out, which was Call of Duty Warzone. It was really fun, and I enjoyed playing with my friends. What was one thing you regret wasting your time on these past few years, and what would you have done differently? I regret not setting proper screen times, because it ruined a lot of my hours that I could have spent working on my extracurriculars or doing something more productive, like studying for the SAT. That's one thing I mainly regret. This is my great friend, Rochelle Devanini. I met him almost six years ago, and we have always played outside together since we met. When I first met him in 2017, we always played sports like soccer, tennis, basketball, and football together. But when COVID-19 struck, we were locked up inside our houses because our parents worried for our health. We had to find alternatives to hang out and catch up on what happened. This is when Rochelle and I became heavily addicted to devices. The online school became a huge part of our lives for the next two years, but during the 15-minute breaks in between each class, we would either watch our favorite shows and talk about them or play video games together. However, after online classes, it got worse. We only played video games, and nobody would stop us because this was the only way for us to combat our boredom. Eventually, as summer rolled around, our screen time got even worse to the point that we were playing six hours a day minimum. But again, you couldn't blame us since we had no other way to communicate. We couldn't play outside due to COVID-19 spreading like crazy and with our parents not letting us go outside. It seems as though life before COVID-19 was well-balanced with the right amount of physical activity and the right amount of time spent on devices. This is slightly true, with some details left out. The fact is, as industries released more media outlets, devices, and online activities, more people got obsessed. For example, when the Xbox was first released, many people got addicted and played these games instead of playing outdoors. And this was way before COVID. But COVID-19 had a major impact on getting more people stuck indoors. A major side effect that COVID-19 brought along with being stuck at home was boredom. But it didn't stop there. For many, that boredom made them depressed. Not really the children, but the elderly. Have you ever seen elderly people enjoy their life sitting on the porch and talking or walking around the neighborhood? Well, the majority of you listening have. And for elderly people, this was their way of relieving stress. So what happens when they can't go outside? Vietnamese scientists did a study that investigated the effects of being indoors during COVID-19 and how it correlated with depression. And what did you expect? There was an insanely high correlation between depression and being stuck indoors. Out of the 156 participants, 14.1% had mild depression, 44.9% had moderate depression, and 44% had severe depression. Now, you may put this all aside or find this irrelevant, but when looking at it closer, going outside was the only solution for them. Older people aren't so based on technology, which means that they need other ways to keep them entertained. When nature and the outside world were taken away, they started to acquire negative effect. Most of you who are listening to this may be teenagers. And this couldn't relate to you, but did you know even teenagers started to go out less? A survey sent out by the Aspen Institute in late 2019 to children aged 13-17 showed an immense drop in outdoor sports. Almost 1.9 million children dropped out of baseball. Think about that number for a second. 700,000 children dropped out of playing soccer. And to put this into perspective, I myself used to play a sport pre-pandemic, tennis. As soon as the pandemic hit, I quit playing tennis, and even after the pandemic slowly ended, it took me about another year to go back to playing tennis. What's worse was, I didn't have this same interest in playing this sport anymore. But why, you may ask? Now, if you said I was busy playing video games, then you were right. I was more interested in being cooped up in my room than going outside and enjoying a round of tennis. Is that the only thing that made me stay inside? The number one thing that anybody hates is work. Work keeps all of us so busy, and with busyness comes a loss of hobbies. For me, it was schoolwork. Schoolwork became so frustrating and took up so much of my time. But how does that affect others and their ability to go outside? Let's take a 5 second break and continue back on the effects of work. As I was saying before, work was another huge factor for me to be stuck inside, and for many others. According to a 2021 work survey, office workers spent 58% of their time working, doing tasks such as communicating, searching for info, and their respectful roles. Picture this. A person works 60% of their day, sleeps at least 30% of that, and then gets 10% to enjoy their day by eating or doing other activities. Do you think a person would go on a walk and admire the world around them, or plop down on their couch and watch their favorite show after a long day of work? Furthermore, this heavy amount of work causes burnout, and I'm sure a majority of you listeners have faced burnout before, whether that be because of work or other reasons. But when someone is burned out, they tend to not do anything, but maybe a nice walk outside or just sitting on your porch would help, wouldn't it? Up until now, we've been talking about factors that have caused people to stay indoors, but what really happens when you isolate yourself from the outside world? Nature Deficit Disorder Nature Deficit Disorder Nature Deficit Disorder Nature Deficit Disorder Nature Deficit Disorder Nature Deficit Disorder Nature Deficit Disorder Nature Deficit Disorder Nature Deficit Disorder Well, think about it like this. You need vitamin D in your body, or you will have problems with absorbing calcium, phosphate, and other nutrients. Now, a lack of vitamin D is called vitamin D insufficiency. It is the same with nature. Nature provides one with benefits such as cognitive, emotional, social, and spiritual skills. When you lack them, you lose certain aspects of these benefits or skills. To test this out, a study was done on young adults at a four-week wilderness camp. The results that were found were astonishing. Almost all participants showed signs of increased nature connection skills, sense of safety, and more social skills. These results all pointed to one thing. Their relationship with nature benefited them. Furthermore, these candidates felt an increase in their well-being after the immersive camping experience. This means that they felt more relaxed, had more positive emotions, a sense of wholeness, and transcendence. The whole point of this study was to see if nature had the capability to make one feel this way, and the hypothesis was proven true. Now, going back to the older people, they had depression being stuck inside, but a simple fix for them was to go outside for at least an hour, and they would have had lower levels of stress and depression. Furthermore, those who have too much work stress can also be benefited from just spending time outside, getting away from all the life stress. In a sense, all these factors that cause you to stay inside can easily be terminated by going outside. With all these benefits from being outside and admiring nature, it may seem as though I'm telling you to stop using your devices and such. But you're wrong. Technology has brought society ahead of the game. For example, during COVID, the only way classes could be taught was through online video conferencing platforms such as Google, Meet, or Zoom. Assignments were also all online, and this was the only way for kids to learn at a time like that. On a broader scale, technology has made advancements such as augmented reality, artificial intelligence, and 3D printing, which have all reshaped lifestyles, healthcare, private business, and human behavior. So if technology brings all these benefits, wouldn't that mean children should stay home and use technology more? Absolutely not, and let me tell you why. Technology is the same as any other activity, and should be kept at a minimum. Think about it like this. If you exercise too much, you may injure yourself, and with technology, if you abuse it too much, then you may experience negative consequences. Technology uses have reduced in-person interactions and attention spans, increased engagement, decreased patience and presence, and lessened contact with the outside world. Now, there are pros and cons to technology usage, but the main focus is to keep it at a minimum, such that kids can balance their time outside and inside. But parents seem to have a bigger fear than just letting their kids go outside. Any parent that has kids will know firsthand how much care and effort they put into making sure their child is safe. While I don't have kids, I can use my mom as an example. My mom would never let me roam around, even in our gated community. If I was to play outside, then she would always be watching. Even when I met Rachel and we played, she always monitored us to make sure we were safe. For some of you, it may seem as though what my mother is doing is too controlling, but she has her reasons. Every year, crime rates have gone up, and some communities suffer more than others. Would you send your kid outside knowing they could get harmed? Obviously not, but here's where the issue comes. Parents would rather give their child an iPad and leave them at home instead of going outside with them and monitoring them as they play. Studies done on mothers and their 5-year-olds show that factors such as neighborhood poverty, crime rates, and social support all decide whether mothers let their child play. I would assume many of you know what the outcomes were, but what you will hear next will surprise you. The neighborhoods that were more poverty-stricken had parents worried about their children, but the children were out and about more. And those with richer, safer neighborhoods, the children spent more time inside, and this is simply because these richer neighborhoods had more access to technology and they decided to stay indoors more. We now cover the factors that lead to staying inside, such as parents being cautious, technology abuse, and excessive work. But we have also covered the pros and cons of being outside and indoors. Let's take a look at what Rachel and I did. Over time, we got to high school, and we started to realize that we needed to balance the things in our lives. We needed to get adequate time outside, but also get the right amount of time indoors. Getting work done is our main priority, and then making sure we get some physical activity has been our goal. And we stuck with this goal throughout high school. But many of you listeners are now in a dilemma. Would you rather be at the comfort of your own home and not have to fear for one's safety while having access to technology, or would you rather spend time outside gaining benefits such as increased social skills, being more physically fit, and having less stress? Many people would sit at their desks and think about what they could do with their time outside. They would sit at their desks and think about what they could do with their time outside. Many people would sit and think about this question for a while, and then pick one choice. But why? Why only pick one choice? The answer is very simple, and you know it. You must keep a balanced life. If you eat only one type of food every day, will you be healthy? Obviously not. Same situation here. Society is progressing into a greater technological era, and there's no way around it. A balanced life means that one is able to give time to both technology and nature. This is the most optimal way to get all the benefits in society, whether that be being more mentally or even socially prepared. The choice is yours. So will you spend your life inside or outside, or will you challenge yourself to achieve a balanced lifestyle? Thank you for watching!