Health trackers on mobiles helped folks keep wholesome throughout pandemic lockdowns, however the gadgets additionally added stress with info overload about COVID-19, a research has discovered.
An article printed within the newest difficulty of the journal PLOS Digital Well being examines how expertise was used all over the world on the top of the pandemic between July and September 2020.
Individuals who used health apps throughout lockdowns have been extra prone to train. Credit score:iStock
A global staff, led by College of Sydney PhD candidate Huong Ly Tong, surveyed greater than 500 folks from 32 nations and located 83 per cent used apps to remain lively.
“The research discovered individuals who used cellular apps have been extra prone to be extra lively,” Tong stated.
“This demonstrates that expertise can play an necessary function in serving to to advertise wholesome behaviours, even through the distinctive circumstances of the pandemic.”
A couple of third of individuals surveyed within the research, largely Australians, stated apps additionally got here in useful to handle their psychological well being.
However the authors additionally discovered apps and social media have been a double-edged sword.
“On one hand, these apps helped folks preserve a way of normalcy, to remain lively and linked,” stated College of Sydney senior researcher Dr Liliana Laranjo.