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th ei fp .c a Th e IF P -H al to n H ill s | T hu rs da y, S ep te m be r 13 ,2 01 8 | 10 As a family doctor, I can see that our youngest gen- eration, Gen Z or iGen, is struggling. I see more teen angst, depression and sui- cidality than ever before - and my gut says that it's connected to smart- phones, social media and how the human brain is wired. "You're not imagining things," said Dr. Deepa So- ni, an ER doctor in Missis- sauga, whose hospital sees high volumes of every- thing from heartburn to heart attacks. She too sees more teens and preteens presenting in crisis: "while everyone seems less patient and more stressed these days, teens in particular come to the emergency department with more anxiety, less re- silience and more suicidal attempts." Dr. Soni shared new re- search that backs up anec- dotal experience with par- ent councils, classrooms and family docs like me. Rates of depression in teens have doubled. Rates of feeling "left out" or "lonely" have doubled. One in three teens now re- port "poor sleep." Teens to- day are constantly plugged in and turned on for six to 10 hours a day on their smartphones, check- ing them hundreds to thousands of times a day. Most can't go to sleep with- out it within arm's reach. It's an addiction. Teens today live two lives: the physical one seen in school and at home, and the virtual one on Snapchat and Insta- gram. This virtual life has transformed the teenage brain, and not for the bet- ter. Social media transmits a vortex of information through scrolling news- feeds, mixing the trivial with the relevant. Teens today are not only afraid of missing out, they're less able to separate what is useful from what is noise. Shorter attention spans - shorter now than that of a goldfish - impair their ability to lay down long- term memory, which is es- sential for learning. The entire tech indus- try is in "an arms race for dopamine," our brain's feel-good chemical. Com- panies aggressively track how people use smart- phones, finding ways to make them use it more. Notifications provide a hit of dopamine, so apps like Instagram delay revealing the number of likes on a post, luring teens into checking their phones again and again. Main- taining a Snapstreak (a Snapchat conversation) releases more dopamine, so teens participate every single day even on vaca- tion. For teens, branding is the new social currency. Carefully curated and fil- tered selfies show high- light reels of teen life. It re- inforces feelings of inade- quacy, otherness, compe- tition - and dishonesty because the online perso- na bears little resem- blance to reality. It's no wonder tech gi- ants like Bill Gates or Steve Jobs refused to let their kids plug in. Unplugging every day is obviously a necessity. The research is in. Put your devices out of sight, out of mind every evening. Your health depends on it. - Nadia Alam is a Georgetown physician and president of the Onta- rio Medical Association. She can be reached at nadia.alam@oma.org. OPINION IGEN AND THE IMPACTS OF ALWAYS BEING CONNECTED 'UNPLUGGING EVERY DAY IS OBVIOUSLY A NECESSITY,' SAYS ALAM NADIA ALAM Column SIGN UP FOR OUR WEEKLY NEWSLETTER AT THEIFP.CA Unique Landscape and GardenDesigns mayflowersbydesign.com Design and Install Patios, Pergola's, Walkways, Decks, Fire and Water Features, Landscape Lighting, Perennial Gardens and More For no-obligation consultation 905 951 7780 330 GUELPH ST.,GEORGETOWN (opposite Canadian Tire) 905-877-0596 • www.millersscottishbakery.com WARM & HEARTY MEALS Made Easy! Freshly Made & Baked On Premises Breads, Buns, Pastries, Meat Pies & More! IMPORTED BRITISH CHEESES ARM & HEARTY MEALSARM & HEARTY MEALS MILLER'S ScottISh BakERy MILLER'S ScottISh BakERy