Swipe right for a healthy heart, swipe left on screen overload

Gone are the days when people feared death only in their 60s or 70s. Today, the spectre of mortality looms disturbingly closer, often well before middle age. Recent data from the Cause of Death Report 2020-22 by the Sample Registration System (SRS) paints a sobering picture: young Indians are increasingly succumbing to causes once associated with older generations. Among individuals aged 15-29, motor vehicle accidents, suicides, and cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) top the list. For those in the 30-44 age group, CVDs are the leading cause of death (23.7 per cent), a trend that intensifies with age 35.9 per cent in 45-54, and 39.7 per cent in the 55-69 bracket.

What’s more alarming is the gender disparity: across almost all age brackets, male deaths due to cardiovascular causes are significantly higher than females. Urban areas report higher death percentages than rural ones except in the 15-29 age group, where rural mortality slightly edges out urban rates. Regionally, the eastern states of Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha, and West Bengal bear the highest CVD burden, while central India shows comparatively lower rates.

The scope of CVD, as defined in the report, is wide: strokes, heart attacks, paralysis, high blood pressure, and even sudden, unexplained deaths fall under this umbrella. Traditional culprits such as sedentary lifestyles, poor diets, chronic stress, smoking, and genetics are often cited as major contributors. But these don’t explain it all.

Enter the digital dimension

What continues to be under-acknowledged is the growing influence of digital screen time. It’s more than just an eye-strain issue. Emerging research links excessive mobile and TV screen use to higher risks of coronary artery disease, heart failure, and ischemic heart disease. In contrast, computer screen time seems to show a weaker correlation. One longitudinal study in the US tracked adolescents and found that high screen exposure predicted obesity, diabetes, and larger waistlines decades later. Another study from North India linked screen usage exceeding 6.5 hours daily to elevated blood pressure in medical students, independent of Body Mass Index.

How much are we talking?

In New Delhi, a survey of 550 adolescents (ages 10-19) recorded an average screen time of 3.8 hours per day, with 68 per cent exceeding the recommended two‑hour limit. Nationally, 60 per cent of youngsters aged 9-17 spend over three hours daily on social media and gaming. A Gurugram‑based Fortis study found nearly 60 per cent of Indian teens log more than five hours per day on their smartphones for entertainment and networking.

Interestingly, screen time might also be affecting our health in ways we can’t even see. A study by Arizona State University looked at the gut bacteria of college students and found that those who spent more than 75 minutes a day on screens had different types of gut microbes. These changes were linked to serious health problems like obesity, Type 1 diabetes, constant tiredness, and digestive issues like inflammatory bowel disease.

Why does this matter?

Because screen time quietly alters the very foundations of our health: our sleep, our movement, our diet, and now, even our gut. Even what feels like harmless scrolling or binge-watching can quietly harm your heart in ways we’re just starting to learn. Disrupted sleep, sedentary behavior, poor eating habits, and even microscopic changes in gut bacteria all point toward a silent but deadly chain reaction. It’s no longer just about digital fatigue, it’s about digital vulnerability.

In a country where heart disease is creeping into the lives of 30-year-olds, the real danger may not lie in our genes or our food, but in our screens. Heart disease is not just an end-of-life issue, it’s a growing midlife and even young adult crisis. As digital lifestyles become the norm, it’s imperative we rethink public health narratives, invest in preventive awareness, and start treating screen time not as a harmless habit, but as a potential health hazard. Schools and workplaces must embed micro-activity breaks. Families and doctors should encourage youths to limit screens, improve diet, sleep well, and move routinely. Cardiovascular screening, especially among South Asians shown to have elevated heart-disease risk, must begin earlier.

Recognising screen time as a cardiovascular risk factor isn’t just good health advice, it may well be the difference between life and death for an entire generation.

Dr. Yamini, Assistant Professor at IGDTUW Management, researches health policy, health access, consumer behavior, and gender roles to inform policy.

Views expressed are the author’s own and don’t necessarily reflect those of Down To Earth