Chatting, watching series, doing banking: many Germans spend hours online every day - with negative effects on the body.
"Checking 148,713 more emails" is the title of a pop song by Tim Bendzko.
The life of Germans takes place on the Internet.
So not only, but also - and especially in Corona times.
There are family celebrations via video conference or game evenings with the befriended couple on a game platform instead of at the dining table.
You are online not only for your job, but also in your free time: e-mails, social networks, streaming platforms, music, shopping, recipes, articles, banking.
Tablet, smartphone *, PC.
Most people are privately online several times a day in lockdown
A study published by Techniker Krankenkasse also shows how much the digital is integrated into daily life.
83 percent of the men surveyed are therefore online several times a day or almost always for private purposes.
For women it is 69 percent.
There are no comparative figures to previous studies by the health insurance company because it was designed for the first time.
The study focuses on adults between the ages of 18 and 65.
The telephone survey in October is representative of the entire population in Germany.
Despite the frequent presence on the Internet, a total of 87 percent of all respondents also say that they try to spend as little time as possible on the Internet
.
They also asked about their state of health - and the study organizers write: Long private use of the Internet goes hand in hand with poorer health.
21 percent of frequent surfers, who are on the net for five hours or more per day, have a less good or even poor general state of health.
"This proportion halves with decreasing service life to up to nine percent," it says.
Compared to the other user groups, there are significantly more frequent surfers who suffer from nervousness (38 percent) and depressive symptoms such as mood swings (40 percent).
Also read
: Do you drink more alcohol during the Corona crisis?
This phenomenon could be the cause.
Increase in media consumption during the corona crisis
The pandemic also plays a role in the survey: The Corona crisis has increased the frequency of use of digital media for many people.
30 percent of those surveyed stated that they use digital communication channels - such as messengers or video conferences - more frequently in private than before the outbreak of the pandemic.
The Federal Drug Commissioner Daniela Ludwig (CSU) warns of the risks of excessive internet use.
During the lockdown, digital media provided valuable support - whether video conferencing with colleagues, homeschooling on a tablet or digital meetings with friends and relatives.
That was "everything is right, everything is important," said Ludwig at the request of the German Press Agency.
"But where it gets tricky is
when there is no longer a clear dividing line between sensible and senseless media use, a permanent digital state, as it were
."
This can be a problem, especially with young people.
Ludwig refers to a study by the health insurance company DAK and researchers at the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE).
According to this, children and young people between the ages of 10 and 17 spent up to 75 percent more time gaming, surfing and chatting in the first lockdown in 2020.
"This is worrying because many of them have problems getting away from consoles and co., Or even creeping into addiction," warns Ludwig.
“
We are talking about 700,000 affected children and young people.
"
Also interesting:
Those who play these two games in lockdown feel mentally healthier - say researchers.
Computer game addiction among children and adolescents is increasing
Continuous surfing and daddling can sometimes take on pathological traits and become downright addictive.
For example, video and online game addiction are recognized as diseases by the World Health Organization.
The initiators of the DAK study were therefore alarmed last year and rated the numbers as the first warning signals
that computer game addiction could expand due to the corona pandemic.
A problem that should be exacerbated by the second lockdown and the current extension.
“We can already assume that digital media will be used even more than in 2020,” estimates Ludwig.
She therefore appeals to the parents: "Especially now in the lockdown and also in the coming months it is immensely important not only to stick in front of the screens." Of course, the alternatives are currently limited.
"
But reading, doing handicrafts, going to the park or cooking together can always be implemented and is a lot of fun
".
(dpa)
* Merkur.de belongs to the Germany-wide Ippen digital editorial network
.
Read more
: Lockdown lowers corona numbers but favors two life-threatening diseases: Doctor with urgent appeal.
Morning exercises for home
Morning exercises for home