Psychologist Warns of Youth Screen Overuse and Self‑Diagnosis Risks in Chile

Clinical psychologist Carolina Rosenfeld of RedSalud Magallanes highlighted the growing health concerns linked to excessive digital screen exposure among children and adolescents. She noted that youngsters as young as seven can spend up to nine hours daily on devices, leading to sleep disturbances, eating irregularities and heightened irritability. Rosenfeld cautioned that many teens turn to online platforms or AI tools such as ChatGPT to label their emotional states, risking self‑diagnosis and living through a imposed “label.” She emphasized that attention deficits often stem from fragmented media consumption rather than clinical pathology and called for concrete public policies to regulate screen time for minors. The psychologist also described the paradox of modern parenting: over‑protective “bubble” environments versus parents distracted by their own devices, creating “false connections.”