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Smartphone use could be changing shape of our skulls

Skull Shape - Level 0

A small bump is appearing on the skull of some smartphone users. It is big enough to feel. A doctor told the BBC about the bump. He said in the last ten years, he has seen more patients with the bump. A lot of people aged 18 to 30 have the bump. They spend many hours every day bent over their smartphones.

The doctor looked at 1,200 people aged 18 to 86. Younger people had more skull bumps. The bumps are because people bend their necks while looking at their phones. People bend their neck at an angle and it becomes sore. Doctors call this "text neck". Doctors told people to change their sitting position if their neck hurts.

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Skull Shape - Level 1

Smartphones are changing the shape of our skulls. A small bump is appearing on the head of some smartphone users. It is big enough to feel by pressing it. A scientist at a university in Australia told the BBC about the bump. He has been a doctor for 20 years. He said in the past ten years he has found more patients with the bump. It is more frequent among 18 to 30-year-olds. They spend many hours a day bent over their smartphones.

A study looked at the smartphone use of 1,200 people aged 18 to 86. Younger people had more skull bumps. The bumps will be more common if people bend their necks while looking at their phones. People bend their neck at an angle to look at their phone. This can strain the neck. Doctors call this strain "text neck". They say the skull bump rarely causes health problems. They told people to change their sitting position if their neck hurts.

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Skull Shape - Level 2

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Smartphones are changing the shape of our skulls. Some people spend so long looking at smartphones that a small bump is appearing above their neck. It is big enough to feel by pressing the bottom of the skull. A health scientist at a university in Australia spoke to the BBC about the discovery. He said: "I have been a [doctor] for 20 years....In the last decade, increasingly, I have been discovering that my patients have this growth on the skull." The bump is more frequent among 18 to 30-year-olds. They spend many hours a day bent over their smartphones.

A study looked at the smartphone use of 1,200 people aged 18 to 86. The 18 to 30-year-olds were more likely to have the skull bumps. A researcher said the bumps will be more common becausewe bend our necks while looking at our phones. The skull bump could come from always bending the neck at an angle to look at digital devices. Bending our head at the same angle for a long time can strain the neck. Doctors call this strain "text neck". They also say the skull bump rarely causes health issues. They told people to change their posture if their neck becomes sore.

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Skull Shape - Level 3

Scientists say that smartphones are changing the shape of people's skulls. Some people are spending so long looking at smartphones that a small bony bump is appearing above their neck. Doctors say the bump is large enough to feel by pressing the bottom of the skull, just above the neck. Dr David Shahar, a health scientist at the University of The Sunshine Coast in Australia, spoke to the BBC about the discovery. He said: "I have been a clinician for 20 years, and only in the last decade, increasingly, I have been discovering that my patients have this growth on the skull." The bump is becoming more frequent among 18 to 30-year-olds who spend many hours a day hunched over their smartphone.

A study led by Dr Shahar looked at the smartphone use of 1,200 people aged 18 to 86. Shahar said 18 to 30-year-olds were more likely to have the skull bumps than older generations. He said the bumps will probably be more common as we spend longer bending our necks while looking at their phones. Doctors say the bump could come from constantly bending the neck at unnatural angles to look at digital devices. Our head weighs about 4.5 kilograms and bending our head at the same angle for a long time can strain the neck. Doctors are calling this strain "text neck". They say the skull bump rarely causes health issues. They advised people to change their posture if their neck becomes sore.

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