Beyond Tech Neck: How Technology Might Be Affecting Your Skin

I say this as a millennial who both loves a cozy scrollfest every now and then and who also can remember the days of having to wait until your sibling hung up the landline phone before we could get online with dial-up: technology is practically inescapable today. Most of us use it at least in some capacity to do our jobs every day, and to relax with at night, even if it’s just on in the background.

Our skin, though, hasn’t exactly taken to technology the same way. As it turns out, screentime can have a significant impact on our skin in several ways, and none of them are great. But knowing is the first step and there’s plenty you can do to enjoy your favorite tech while keeping your skin healthy and young, so let’s dive in.

Faster Aging

Your phone might make you feel young by keeping you up to date with the latest trends, but unfortunately, it won’t make you look younger. Studies show that blue light exposure can accelerate your facial aging. It breaks down the collagen that firms your skin, ultimately contributing to wrinkles and sagging skin, and it can also cause similar signs of damage as excessive sun exposure, like age spots.

Creating New Wrinkle Patterns

Fine lines and wrinkles are formed partly because of a loss of collagen with age and partly because of repetitive motions and facial expressions. If you use computers and phones a lot, you probably don’t even realize that there are certain motions and expressions it’s causing you to make over and over, and these can lead to wrinkles in those areas.

You probably bend your neck a lot to look at your phone, which contributes to deeper wrinkles in your neck. You might also squint your eyes often to adjust to the direct light coming from your phone or other screens, and this can cause crow’s feet and other wrinkles around your eyes.

Costing You Beauty Sleep

Blue light from screens can affect your natural circadian rhythm (AKA your sleep-wake cycle). If you spend too much time looking at screens or if you’re keeping your screens on too late at night, it can make it harder for you to sleep or cause your sleep to be less restorative. Considering that your sleep is when your body repairs skin damage and does important work to keep you looking younger, losing sleep because of technology can be costly…not to mention the dark under-eye circles that all of us have woken up with after a rough night.

Weakened Skin Barrier

The blue light from screens appears to not only break down collagen and elastin but also weaken your skin’s protective barrier. That barrier keeps pollutants and other damaging particles out while keeping moisture in, so a weak barrier means that your skin will be more prone to dryness and also to skin damage.

How to Protect Your Skin from the Negative Effects of Technology

Don’t worry, you don’t have to go back to the Stone Age to keep your skin young and healthy. There are just a few things you can do that will help you enjoy your screentime without your skin suffering the consequences.

Wear SPF Daily

You’ve probably heard us say this before, but at the risk of sounding like a broken record, this is yet another reason why you should make sunscreen a standard part of your morning skin care routine. It can help shield your skin from the accelerated aging caused by screens, especially if you’re working a desk job where your computer is inches from your face all day.

Choose Antioxidant Skin Care

Antioxidants and SPF are a perfect team when it comes to preventing skin damage and premature aging. Think of it this way: the SPF is the first line of defense to prevent damaging particles from reaching your skin as much as possible, and antioxidants fight off the particles that do get through the SPF.

Antioxidants also help your body repair existing damage, so they’re really a must if you want healthier, younger-looking skin. Antioxidant skin care is essential, but you can boost your antioxidants even more by also eating plenty of foods with antioxidants, like berries, dark leafy greens, and nuts and seeds.

Adjust Your Screen Settings

Now that we’re learning more and more about blue light and its effect on so many aspects of our health, many devices have blue light filters built in. Turning on features like night mode (which reduces the amount of blue light so using your device at night is less disruptive to your sleep) or other blue light filters will lessen the negative impacts of all that screen time, especially when you use them alongside the other tips on this list.

Use Products That Strengthen Your Skin Barrier

Barrier-friendly skin care is a top skin care buzzword in 2025, and the hype is absolutely justified, especially if you live like a typical person in this day and age by using a lot of technology. As you upgrade your skin care routine, look for products that are designed to strengthen your skin barrier like a barrier repair cream.

There are so many parts of our daily routines that can harm our skin, but when it comes to technology, you don’t have to give up your screens to live healthier. Moderation is important, and the tips above can also help you keep your skin safe along the way.