Prolonged periods at a computer or phone screen can cause "computer-screen face syndrome." Photo: Li Hao/GT

Wang Man's thumbs type rapidly on her smartphone screen. Her face is frozen in a blank stare, but her texts are full of rich colorful language, exclamation marks and emoticons, conveying the facial expressions Wang lacks in person.

"I feel all kinds of emotions inside but I lack the effort to make them on my face," said Wang, an educational project manager. "I don't want to make my colleagues think I am slow-witted or detached, but I think they already do."

Recently, Wang was alerted by a term she read online called pingmu lian, literally meaning "screen face." It refers to people who lack face-to-face social skills due to overuse of online communication and are prone to emotionless facial expressions.

As modern people are more used to WeChat, QQ, Weibo, Facebook and other social media tools in both their work and personal life, this robotic behavior is becoming more common.

According to Li Wei, neurologist with Shanghai Ninth People's Hospital, in a Health Times report, people should pay more attention to this "computer-screen face syndrome", which affects the health of people's faces.

It can cause accelerated aging of the facial skin, pigmentation, lack of flexibility, wrinkles, and allergies, said Li. The screen of a computer or a smart phone has static electricity, attracting floating dirt in the air which can cause a stuffed nose and itchy throat.

Li suggested that the most effective way to cure the "screen face" is to stay away from the screen. Cut the time spent on using computers and smartphones, and keep a 70-centimeter distance at least from the screen. 

Besides harming people's physical health, the complications of the blank face can make a person socially aloof. 

Yang Xiaoyang, psychologist at Sun Yat-sen University, said that since people are more used to communicating over the Internet, the phenomenon of "screen face" is naturally growing.

"If you don't practice, [the  ability to communicate with expressions] will definitely decline." Negative impacts on people in a long term include "declining interpersonal communication skills" and even "unsociable and eccentric characteristics," said Yang.

However, there is no direct evidence to prove that it causes serious psychological problems, Yang added. He pointed out that people have different levels of sensitivity to the dropping of the frequency of face-to-face communications. Some might have a problem, and others might not.

"Overusing computers and smartphones is a fundamental revolution in terms of physiology and psychology," explained Yang, pointing out that people should discuss it against the backdrop of our changing society.

Ten years ago, even the most experienced doctors had never dealt with the computer-induced problems, like "mouse hand" from prolonged, repetitious use of the computer mouse; and the "smartphone elbow" which meant cubital tunnel conditions from overly using their smartphones. Other such "injuries" include "headphone ear" and the "computer neck."

Ding Yi, 24, computer engineer, thinks all those so-called modern diseases are simply "making a big fuss out of something so small." But he admits that he's yet another victim of this poker face condition of the digital age.

"I admit that prolonged use of online chatting causes people to react slower and become aloof when communicating face-to-face," he said. To make a change, he pushes himself to do more sports and chooses chatting to friends over a coffee rather than over the phone.