At some point, someone in your life has likely blamed all of your problems on your phone. Although it may sound irritating and cliche, you should actually listen. People, especially teenagers, tend to spend hours on end on their phones, which can be detrimental to our health, social life, and perception of real life. As of 2023, 47% of Americans state they are addicted to their phones, and 66% of teenagers admit they feel anxious when they are offline(Zauderer).
When you step into a public space, what’s the first thing you see? Phones. Whether you’re at a park, at home, or at school, people are constantly attached to their screens. Even during lunch, instead of seeing friends socializing and laughing in the cafeteria, the vast majority of people will be online, isolated from each other. The average screen time for teenagers has reached an extreme height of 6 hours and 59 minutes a day(Susic). This alarming statistic shows that not only are phones being used as a cure for boredom, but teens’ lives now completely revolve around being online. This can lead to many negative effects.
One of these problems is that phones can affect physical health. According to Childmind.org, they are one of the leading causes of teen sleep deprivation. This is incredibly concerning, considering the negative effects of sleep deprivation, including compromised memory, irritability, inability to focus, and more. Overuse of cell phones can also cause eye and neck strain, which of course no one wants to experience(Psychguides).
An arguably worse effect of large screen times is worsened mental health. Overuse of phones can lead to worsened attention span and social skills because of over-dependence on phones. They can also lead to self-image issues, especially when it comes to social media. According to time.com, the quality of mental health and happiness are highest in people with a daily screen time of between ½ and 2 hours.
Most importantly, phones can cause real life to seem more dull. People are often too preoccupied with their phones to notice or even care about what’s right in front of them. This way, people miss out on the beauty and spontaneity in life. The easy and fast dopamine rush that comes from this technology makes it so that simple enjoyments in life often become boring. This makes it so that people would much rather be on their phones than interact with or enjoy whatever’s around them. After all, why would anyone want to watch a sunset or have a mundane conversation when there are billions of exciting activities to choose from right on their phone?
Phones are extremely overused and negatively affect mental and physical health as well as quality of life in general. Next time you think about picking up your phone, stop and reconsider whether you actually should or not. Then maybe you’ll feel just a bit lighter knowing you resisted the appealing lure of your phone and the detrimental side effects that come with it.
