The negative impact of technological advancements on mental health: An epidemiological approach

M.C. Zara and L.H.A. Monteiro

Applied Mathematics and Computation, 2021, vol. 396, issue C

Abstract: Internet and smartphone are inventions that have brought significant benefits to humanity. However, many individuals have become addicted to using these technologies and, as a consequence, they experience negative mental effects. The home confinement due to the COVID-19 pandemic may have worsened this situation. Here, an epidemic model is proposed to represent the spread of the problematic technology use. The model is written as a set of differential equations, which describes the time evolution of the numbers of non-users, light/moderate users, heavy users, and problematic users. This model presents a single endemic steady-state, which is asymptotically stable. This result is illustrated by numerical simulations and its relevance is examined from a public health perspective.

Keywords: Dynamical systems; Epidemic model; Internet; Problematic use; Smartphone (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:apmaco:v:396:y:2021:i:c:s0096300320308584

DOI: 10.1016/j.amc.2020.125905

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