Cell Phone Addiction and Its Impact on Health

Take a moment to think: Am I addicted to my phone? A large number of teenagers spend too much time on social media. In fact, people spend too much time on phones in general. It’s not only teenagers that are addicted. Parents are addicted as well, just a little less than teenagers are. Social media is harmful and people don’t care as much as they should about the time spent on phones. Unfortunately, there are many bad effects of social media. This addiction affects many people’s everyday lives. The amount of excess time spent on phones is a lot, and being aware of how addiction can affect someone's health is important.

The amount of time people spend on their phones is a lot. About 24% of teens, that were surveyed, say they are constantly on their phones. To be specific, 78% of teenagers that were surveyed, say they are on their phones hourly. That is a lot of phones that are almost always on. From ages 8 - 16, 92% of them, that were surveyed, say they are online daily. Which isn’t that bad but this starts at age 8 which means they only have about 8 years until they are introduced to the addiction of phones. This is the cause of more teenage addiction. Experts say that mindlessly scrolling is like smoking. You just do because you want to, not knowing the effects of it. There are a lot of social media platforms, of all kinds, and every day they become more and more popular. Whenever you are bored, you are more than likely going to pick up your phone before thinking about other things you can do. And when you do this, you can do it for hours and take up a lot your day. What if social media wasn’t a thing? What would we do?

Along with that, it takes up a lot of your day, it is not good for your health. A lot of social media factors lead to depression in a lot of kids. All the notifications and text messages teens get can stress them out or make them feel like if they don’t check them, they would feel left out. Social media can trigger sadness and/or anxiety. Social media can make you feel bad about you or your life. It can make you feel ugly (even though you’re not), ungrateful and other bad things. Without it, you would compare your life with others’ less and you wouldn’t care about what you look like as much. Monitoring phones is a great way to help try and prevent these things. It can also prevent bullying or stop them from doing anything inappropriate. So, parents should give their kids’ phones regular checks. 54% of teens, that were surveyed, feel like their parents check their phones too often. They may not like this, but this is good for them. On the other hand, 32% of teens, that were surveyed, feel “unimportant” because their parents are always on their phones and not paying attention to them. This shows that teenagers are not the only ones addicted. A child that is addicted to their phone means they are not included in the sports or activities that they just to be involved in and loved. 

You may or may not know if you are addicted to your phone. Half of the teenagers with phones feel they are addicted to their phones. Teens are addicted to communicating with peers, engaging with gossip, playing games, following celebrities posts. Without it, you wouldn’t talk to as many people because it is harder to talk to someone face to face. Our phones may not be the addiction, but social media is an addiction. When a teenager’s phone gets taken away, as a punishment, they get mad and that is a common punishment. There is so much social media usage nowadays experts are looking into this as an addiction. It is currently not counted as an addiction. Cell phone addiction isn’t listed as an addiction in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. Experts haven’t totally agreed whether the internet connection is an addiction or not. Mobile devices are a direct source of simulation, they are convenient, entertaining and the use of them is modeled all around the world. 

Social media is harmful, but it has some benefits such as having more friends, communication, boosting self-esteem, acts of kindness, and many more. However, the bad things about social media affect you more and can you feel bad about yourself. Without social media, you could have a more peaceful and private life. That is why many people today choose not to use social media. You can enjoy the moments more rather than worrying about posting it so people will see that you have an interesting life. No social media would help your health. You could connect with your friends and family more. An addiction to social media can ruin your life, so look around at those you love and ask yourself: why not spend time with them in person, face to face?

Works Cited

1. Homayoun, Ana. “Is Your Child a Phone 'Addict'?” The New York Times, The New York Times, 17 Jan. 2018, www.nytimes.com/2018/01/17/well/family/is-your-child-a-phone-addict.html.
2. Carlton, Lindsay. “Teen Cellphone Addiction: How Bad Has It Gotten?” Fox News, FOX News Network, www.foxnews.com/health/teen-cellphone-addiction-how-bad-has-it-gotten.
3. Walton, Alice G. “6 Ways Social Media Affects Our Mental Health.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 3 Oct. 2017, www.forbes.com/sites/alicegwalton/2017/06/30/a-run-down-of-social-medias-effects-on-our-mental-health/#69e1446f2e5a.
4. “What Would the World Be Like If Social Media Didn't Exist?” Brandignity, www.brandignity.com/2015/08/what-would-the-world-be-like-if-social-media-didnt-exist/.
5. “Are Our Kids ‘Addicted’ To Social Media?” The Fix, 26 Jan. 2017, www.thefix.com/are-our-kids-addicted-social-media.
6. Alaa. “How Would Life Be Without Social Media?” Life Hacks, Life Hacks, 20 Oct. 2018, lifehacks.io/life-without-social-media/