Cherish Brown

Annotated Bibliography

Dong, K., Goyarts, E. C., Pelle, E., Trivero, J., & Pernodet, N. (2019). Blue light disrupts the

circadian rhythm and create damage in skin cells. International Journal of

Cosmetic Science, 41(6), 558–562.

https://doi-org.lib-proxy.fullerton.edu/10.1111/ics.12572

Light Pollution, the extending of light exposure beyond naturally dark hours via artificial

means, may negatively impact people’s circadian rhythm. Blue light from electronic

devices (laptops, cell phones, etc.) is increasingly concerning as it is prevalent in modern

societies. The authors, researchers at New York University School of Medicine, are

particularly interested in the damage skin undergoes when exposed to blue light rather

than darkness. They performed an experiment submitting one batch of skin cells (normal

human epidermal keratinocytes) to blue light from a light bulb, and one batch to blue

light from a tablet computer, the last batch was exposed to darkness (the control). They

determined that the blue light resulted in a decreased ability for skin to repair itself,

inflammation, and damage to the cells’ DNA. Light pollution has other ill effects, such as

those mentioned in Cindy’s annotation “Brain Function." The audience is professionals in

medical cosmetology.

El-Khoury, J., Haidar, R., Kanj, R. R., Bou Ali, L., & Majari, G. (2021). Characteristics of social

media “detoxification” in university students. Libyan Journal of Medicine, 16(1),

1–7. https://doi-org.lib-proxy.fullerton.edu/10.1080/19932820.2020.1846861
 This article, aimed at psychologists, discusses internet addiction, and suggests that social

media has an impact on the circadian rhythm of its users. Particularly, it is concerned

with the link between social media and problems like anxiety, low-energy, and insomnia.

Social media influences thoughts, which can alter the circadian rhythm, as explained in

Cindy’s annotation, “Brain Function.” The authors, researchers at the American

University of Beirut, conducted a study wherein 68 students participated in a “digital

detox.” Each student abstained from social media for anywhere from half a day to a

week. Many of the students appeared to benefit in ways indicative of their circadian

rhythms returning to a more natural cycle; the majority described their “detox” as

positively affecting their mood, productivity, and ability to sleep. The authors go on to

state that nearly 50% of the students said they would willingly detox again, suggesting it

had therapeutic effects.

Ma, T., Pei, T., Song, C., Liu, Y., Du, Y., & Liao, X. (2019). Understanding geographical

patterns of a city’s diurnal rhythm from aggregate data of location‐aware

services. Transactions in GIS, 23(1), 104–117. https://doi-org.lib-

proxy.fullerton.edu/10.1111/tgis.12508

Technology can have a beneficial impact on a society’s circadian rhythm. Researchers at

the University of Chinese Academy Sciences explain how technology can track a

population’s general circadian rhythm via social media. They performed a study spanning

340 Chinese cities wherein user location data—data that records when / where

individuals are when using a given site—was collected from the Chinese site Tencent.

This information revealed each city had its own respective circadian rhythm, showing

that geographic location as well as race—see “Racial Differences” by Evelyn—can

 influence it. For example, Beijing’s population was generally found to be awake from the

hours of 7:11a.m. to 11:26 p.m. Such data collection is beneficial as basic knowledge of a

given city’s sleep-wake cycle allows for better predicting and planning when it comes to

timing construction, utilizing crossing guards, having police monitor highways, etc. This

article is aimed at other academics.

Mulvin, D. (2018). Media Prophylaxis: Night Modes and the Politics of Preventing Harm.

Information & Culture, 53(2), 175–202. https://doiorg.libproxy.fullerton.edu/10.7560/

IC53203

This article addresses “media prophylaxis,” an analytic concept describing and analyzing

possible ways of mitigating the physically harmful effects that are caused by technology.

In particular, the author, an assistant professor at the London School of Economics,

investigates solutions offered by tech companies, such as Apple, to counteract the

negative repercussions that the nighttime use of blue-light screens has on the sleep-cycle /

body. These repercussions were discussed above in “The Problem with Artificial Light.”

He explains how tech companies have added features to smart devices that lower the

intensity of the screen light’s bandwidth, changing the color tones from cool to warm.

The result of this tonal change is that the light does less damage to the skin and eyes. An

example of this is Apple’s “Night Shift.” This article is aimed at academics in the

biological and (potentially) the business field.