A typical high school student spends, on average, seven and a half hours a day interacting with media on screens, by using cell phones, spending time on the computer, watching television, playing video games or listening to music, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation study.

Seven and a half hours of constant communication and screen usage (anywhere from iPads to handheld video games) may seem like the natural progression of our technologically advanced world; however, the side effects to these never-ending electronic expenditures are incredibly damaging, even physically.

According to a CBS Boston report from 2012, ophthalmologist Dr. Matthew Gardiner, at Mass Ear & Eye Infirmary, sees a lot of patients with cases of “computer vision syndrome,” which is caused by spending too much time in front of a computer or smart phone screen. The disorder targets the eyes and renders them with fatigue and blurred vision.

Computer vision syndrome is rooted in teens and adults alike, who are focusing too intently on the screen in front of them and forget to blink.

These negative effects are not solely related to screens either as teens who listen to music on full blast with ear buds are more likely to develop tinnitus (a permanent ringing in the ear) or eventual hearing loss, according to Dr. Jennifer Smullen at Mass Eye & Ear.

Tablets, such as the iPad, have also raised questions in regards to how users are becoming more prone to neck and shoulder discomfort, and a variety of other muscular problems down the road, after a study was released by Harvard University’s School of Public Health. The scientists engaged in this study noted how users who habitually placed tablets in their laps were subjected to a great deal more of strain on their necks in order to type or read text on the screen.

The largest concern for tech savvy teens in the long haul is constant thumb contact through texting.

According to Peter W. Johnson, an associate professor of environmental and occupational health sciences at the University of Washington in Seattle, repetitive texting can lead to serious ailments such as the development of Carpal Tunnel syndrome (numbness and loss of grip in the hand or forearm that has the potential to spread to the shoulders) and overall damage (both temporary and permanent) to users’ thumbs. In the face of our modernized world, teens are constantly engaging on an electronic level socially or academically. However, the physical side effects of this continuous technological consumption do exist and will remain a topic of conversation, as long as the future advent of new technologies for teens, small children and adults alike are concerned.