A new study has revealed that younger generation’s excessive use of smartphones and tablets are causing them to develop horns in the back of their skulls.
Two Australian researchers made the discovery while examining hundreds of X-rays of people aged between 18 and 30, finding almost half had developed bone growths.
These spurs are normally seen in hunched-over elderly people with long-term poor posture problems and high stress loads on their bones.
However, the emergence of these “horn-like” skull growths highlight the impact the extended use of phones have on young people’s bodies.
Younger generations are growing HORNS on the back of their heads as a result of hunching over smartphones and devices for hours at a time. #9Today pic.twitter.com/FQvhF81Tsu
— The Today Show (@TheTodayShow) June 18, 2019
The findings by Dr David Shahar and Associate Professor Mark Sayers at The University of the Sunshine Coast found that 41 per cent of X-ray images of people aged between 18 and 30 had developed “horn-line” bony lumps, ranging in size from 10 to 30 millimetres.
The findings offer a warning about the impact of poor posture, especially in young people, due to extended phone and tablet use.
Both doctors continue to examine the phenomenon and plan to develop resources to help avoid the growths, particularly in school kids.