London: Technology has numerous benefits but overuse of technology could cause serious health issues. A leading neuroscientist has cautioned that overuse of technology like computer games and Facebook is dangerous for children and may lead to temporary 'dementia'.

Baroness Greenfield, a neuroscientist at Oxford University said that youngsters should enjoy fresh air instead of sitting on a computer for a long period of time. The children who spend 2,000 hours annually can suffer from computer addiction.

She (Baroness Greenfield) was quoted as saying, "Screen technologies cause high arousal which in turn activates the brain systems underlying addiction. This results in the attraction of yet more screen-based activity." She gave emphasis on the fact that connections in the brain "can be temporarily disabled by activities with a strong sensory content or they will be inactivated permanently by degeneration - ie. dementia".

Youngsters have a great fascination towards Facebook, where malicious messages are posted online. "What does it say about their identity if they are defining themselves by how others see them?" asked Greenfield.

OneIndia News