Phone Addiction

Addiction: dependency on a particular substance, thing, or activity. When people think of the word addiction, the word phone doesn’t usually come to mind. But phone addiction is real and it’s a predicament that is plaguing society at this very moment.

The repercussion of cellphone addiction is very serious but it is often taken in jest. As of 2017, the average person in the U.S. spent an average of five hours a day on their cell phone, and 92% of that time was spent on mobile apps like Snapchat, Instagram, and Twitter. All this time spent on the phone leads to seriously damaging side effects such as depression, insomnia, and back problems. These consequences are caused by constant exposure to bright lights, feedback expectations, and being repetitively hunched over the phone. Being addicted to phones doesn’t just harm an individual’s well-being but it also risks the lives of other people around that person. Most teens (94%) know the dangers of texting and driving but 35% of them proceed to do it anyways, this leads to one in every four car accidents to be caused by texting and driving in the United States. (Statistics from cnn.com)

There is an extensive debate on whether or not students should be allowed to use their cellphones during classes at school. Although smartphones may be helpful in the classroom as an educational tool to look up definitions of unknown words, they can also be very distracting to students and would prevent them from gaining knowledge. Allowing the usage of devices in classrooms not only permits students to cheat easier, but it also stops them from retaining information because it puts them off task. Sophomore English teacher, Elizabeth Brito, elaborated on why she dislikes the usage of cellphones in her classroom by saying: “I don’t like to use phones in the classrooms and the only reason why is because it would be great if it was only being used for educational purposes, but unfortunately students get texts and they don’t focus; they get distracted and that’s not good for them. They need to be focused on what the teacher is presenting in class.”

Ms. Brito is not alone in her opinion on phone addiction, but not all teachers share a common cell phone policy. AP World History teacher, Robert Perez, expressed: “Cell phone addiction is actually creating an environment where people have a short attention span. They’re quickly distracted with whatever’s available to them on their phone, whether it be social media, video streaming, websites, etc.” Though Mr. Perez feels this way, he’s not uncomfortable with phone usage by his students in the classroom; “I allow my students to use their phone only if it helps them in completing assignments in the classroom.” Another teacher who enforces a similar policy is IB and Gifted English teacher, Robert Rowe: “I will allow them [the students] to utilize their phones, if the school technology, tablets, personal computers…are not working. I will allow the students to utilize their phones, to access the internet, to access dictionaries, thesauruses…I’ll permit that.” Regardless of the diversity in classroom policies, the opinions these teachers share are all extraordinarily similar. Mr. Rowe said: “It’s a big problem, it’s to the point that some young people really can’t hone their train of thought to focus on something their parent or guardian might have them do at home.” Rowe continued to elaborate on the noticeable effects phones have in the classroom. “I notice in class, phone addiction is to the point where students will use their phones – while the phones have lots of capabilities, smartphones alike – so much, that there is a lack of interaction among classmates…you see the more technological interaction.”

But nobody should forget that there are two sides to every story. When asked about phone addiction, students came up with interesting responses. When asked on a scale of one to ten, how addicted to your phone are you, Senior Matthew Iglesias answered: “an eight.” An eight was the standard answer, although some students confessed to being a little more than dependent on their phone and answered with an eleven, such as Sophomore Chelsea Cerone. Not only are students addicted to their phone, they’re reliant on technology in general as a source of amusement. The students had different responses as to what they would be doing if they were not on their phones. Answers ranged from playing video games to spending time with friends and family. Now if one were to choose the phone for something vital to your health such as water, the answer should be obvious. But alas, some couldn’t make the relatively easy decision. Most students chose water, being that if one has perished by dehydration one cannot use a phone anymore.

There are several symptoms of phone addiction such as preoccupation with smartphone use. There is also the symptom of turning to a cell phone when one is experiencing unwanted feelings of anxiety or depression. As well as excessive use characterized by loss of sense of time. Another symptom is exhibited when one has put a relationship or job at risk as a result of excessive phone use. There is also the fact that one has committed persistent failed attempts to use a cell phone less.

And while the symptoms of cell phone addiction are many, the symptoms of cell phone withdrawal can be just as numerous. Cell phone withdrawal: when a cell phone or network is unavailable. Withdrawal includes but is not limited to anger, tension, depression, irritability, and restlessness. One may not believe it, but there are significant psychological effects on a human from cell phone addiction. Sleep disturbances for one; cell phone addiction has been linked to an increase in sleep disorders and fatigue in users. Using your cell phone before bed increases the likelihood of insomnia. It can also cause depression and anxiety, research has found that college students that use their cell phone the most are more likely to feel anxious during downtime. Excessive dependency on a phone can cause relationship problems as a result of the notable fear of missing out (also known as FOMO by some). But when one chooses not to miss out on their virtual life, they miss out on their actual life. This can be seen in the extensive amounts of time teenagers spend on their phone. When asked the amount of time spent on the phone a day, the students of John A. Ferguson had varying responses. Junior Jose Pinzon, responded with “probably fifteen minutes…I just look at my phone for homework and soccer.” While Pinzon’s amount of time spent on the phone a day is short, that’s not always the case. Senior Vanessa Toussaint spends a little more time than fifteen minutes, “I would say [I spend] seven hours.” That is almost half of the total waking hours if people are getting the recommended eight hours of sleep. According to British psychologists, the average amount of time spent on a phone for a young adult is five hours. Which is roughly one-third of the total waking hours.

A lot of smartphone use seems to be habitual, automatic behaviors that individuals are not aware of. Therefore, it may seem like a challenge to put one’s phone down and get off of social media. But in the end, no one else but the cell phone addict can make the decision to extract themselves from their obsession and start living their life through their own eyes and not a phone screen. So, what you say?