The omnipresence of screens in our daily lives has profoundly changed our gestures, our rhythms and until our posture. Never has a generation spent so much time with the tilted head, eyes riveted on a smartphone. This new bodily use, which has become commonplace from childhood, now raises questions that science takes seriously. Cervical pain, long associated with aging or certain trades, now concern a much younger audience.
On the biomechanical level, the posture adopted is actually heavy with consequences. When the head is tilted at 60 degrees forward, the load exerted on the cervical column exceeds 27 kilos, while it supports only 5 in a neutral position. This cervical overwork, repeated daily for hours, nourishes concern around an early degradation of the posture and possible lasting effects on the spine.
Investigations carried out in young people reveal that up to 70% of children spent more than five hours a day in front of a screen regularly complain of neck, shoulders or upper back pain. This figure, relayed by Euronews Health, feeds the feeling of modern health emergency. However, scientists call to step back before drawing hasty conclusions.
Should we really worry about cervical pain among young people?
The expression “Text Neck” may circulate abundantly in physiotherapists and health articles, it remains controversial in the scientific community. For Jan Hartvigsen, a researcher at the University of Southern Denmark and a recognized specialist in spinal pain, it is above all a catchy term than a proven clinical diagnosis. According to him, the phenomenon is part of a long tradition of panic in the face of new technologies. The train, computer or computer mouse have all been accused of provoking postural disorders, before disappearing from media radars.
The debate exceeds simple terminology. A vast systematic review published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine in 2025 compiled 129 studies on the relationship between sedentary behavior and spinal pain in those under 19. The authors identified a low statistical association, but present, in the meantime spent in a seated position and declared pain. However, this correlation disappears when you observe young people over time. Longitudinal studies do not show a direct causal link between sedentary lifestyle and the appearance of cervical pain.
This discrepancy between media perception and scientific results questions. It recalls the importance of distinguishing what is the coincidence of a lifestyle and what stems from a proven pathological mechanism. Because if the pains exist, their origin could be much more complex than the simple use of the phone.
Between posture and psychology, pain remains multifactorial
To want to designate a single culprit, we risk ignoring the deep causes. Pain specialists agree that the cervical system is robust, shaped by evolution to collect much more than a few hours of consultation of screens. What really weakens young people today are crossed factors such as stress, lack of sleep, physical inactivity and a sometimes heavy psychosocial environment.
The study of the BJSM also highlights an often neglected angle. Declared pains are more frequent in adolescent girls than in adolescents, and appear more clearly from the age of 13. These differences suggest an interaction between hormonal changes, body perception and social pressures. The link with the screens is therefore not to be ruled out, but it is part of a much wider causal.
Rather than fueling fear around poorly defined technological syndrome, researchers call to encourage protective behavior, such as regular breaks, daily physical activity, body listening and postural education from an early age. Cervical pain does not impose a digital fatality, they alert us on the contrary to the need to rebalance our way of life.
