My Fight with My Phone Addiction

A problem that I’ve been ignoring for quite some time that has grown bigger and bigger is that of my phone addiction. A lot of times when I deal with an addiction, I don’t fully acknowledge it until it is too far gone. This phone addiction of mine hinders my ability to focus as well as sometimes not be able to complete my responsibilities on time.

The peak of my addiction was probably senior year in high school, it got to the point where I noticed I was failing three classes before I had to get in front of the situation before it got any worse. My mom was the first person to tell me about my addiction. To be honest she is the only one to tell me about it, but she isn't the only that noticed. I see the looks my peers would give me in class when they all were focused and I would just be on my phone being a distraction. In an article by a high school English teacher by the name of Steve Gardiner he writes, “Addiction is a strong word, but it accurately describes the dysfunctional behavior exhibited by teenagers in my high school English classroom when I ask them to put away their cellphones.” This should tell you everything you need to know about my addiction. I mean a teacher is probably the most affected by this trending addiction of mine. A teacher or professor can't even properly teach a class if students are attached and glued to their phones. My grades started to reflect my attentiveness in class, which was at a zero. This was the turning point I had to make in order to try and break out of my addiction.

Since I’ve started college I have to say my addiction is not as bad as it was in high school, but it is still a major problem. Right now my main focus in class and in general is to remain focused. It will be hard to change, because I receive numerous notifications that seem to be more intriguing at the moment, maybe not as important but more intriguing for sure. Although my addiction is usually viewed in a negative way, it could actually be changed into a positive. Smartphones actually can provide a lot of useful information and resources and it doesn't take long to boot up, word to computers. I feel like if I maximized the potential of my phone my addiction would not be frowned upon. Shoot I can do work on my phone and that would actually be deemed as productive. Maybe it’s not the conventional way, but as long as I take care of my responsibilities what’s the issue?

To delve deeper into the positives of cell phone use, I would like to provide more evidence of the pros. In an education article, Charles J. Russo, a research professor of law in the School of Law at the University of Dayton provides his views on the topic: Leveraging the new technology and the ubiquitous nature of smartphones, many schools are now incorporating smartphones into the classroom, using them as instructional tools. With smartphones — even the basic models — students (a) can access the Internet for research and referencing, (b) record teachers’ lectures as well as their own presentations, (c) take photos to accompany projects, (d) keep track of their schedules, and (e) participate in classroom surveys. All of Russo’s ideas are very true and are actually more beneficial than a lot of people think. I think with me being exposed to these ways of productivity on my phone, I believe it will help me with my ‘addiction’.

With time and effort and the will to want to eliminate this addiction, I believe it will happen. I think more people need to look at the positive things about cell phones instead of always looking at it in a negative light. Everyday phones prove people wrong and in my opinion I don't believe that will stop. Believe it or not phones are almost starting to become essential to a huge majority of the world. So much of my personal information is enclosed and protected by my phone. In a way I have kind of gotten dependent on my phone to go on with my daily life. It is not something that happens in a short period of time, it took time for me to grow infatuated and attached to my phone, and honestly it would probably take some time for me to grow unattached if that scenario was to arise.

In conclusion, I think that cellphones should not be looked at as a hindrance but as a tool for success.