On Air Now
The Capital Evening Show with Jimmy Hill 7pm - 10pm
50% of young people are reportedly 'growing horns' in their heads because of phones
20 June 2019, 16:50
Research claims that up to half of all young people are developing horns in their heads.
Recent studies show that nearly 50% of all young people are growing actual horns in the back of their heads.
Yes. You really did just read that correctly. According to new research in Australia, a huge proportion of teenagers and young people are now developing horn-like growths in their skulls.
MORE: The UK’s ‘porn ban’ for under 18s has been delayed again
To make matters even worse, the reason why so many of us are growing horns is linked to an excessive use of smartphones, tablets and technology in general. What are the horns though, are they dangerous and is there any way that we can stop ourselves from getting them?
Why are young people growing horns?
Just recently, Dr David Shahar and Associate Professor Mark Sayers at The University of the Sunshine Coast, carried out a study, in which they examined the brain scans of over 1000 people, including 218 participants between the ages of 18 and 30. In doing so, they discovered that 41% of the 18-30-year-olds involved in the study had developed lumps ranging from 10-30 millimetres large. Help me now.
These kinds of growths are actually very common in elderly people but they've rarely been spotted in younger people until now. Old people tend to develop them from years of poor posture and putting strain on their bones. The study is claiming that young people are gaining them now from spending hours hunched over looking at their phones, tablets and laptops. Technology is literally mutating us.
Explaining the horns to news.com.au, Dr Shahar said: "We hypothesise that the sustained increase load at that muscle attachment is due to the weight of the head shifting forward with the use of modern technologies for long periods of time. Shifting the head forwards results in the transfer of the head’s weight from the bones of the spine to the muscles at the back of the neck and head.”
Thankfully the horns pose no real threat to us. According to Dr Sayers: "The thing is that the bump is not the problem, the bump is a sign of sustained terrible posture, which can be corrected quite simply.” In other words, if you are wary of your posture, you should be horn free. And, even if you do have them, they're not dangerous.