By Natalie Duran
The other day, as I was taking the bus home from school I noticed how crowded it was. Normally at the time I take the bus home, there's plenty of empty seats but on this day they were all filled, there were even a few people standing. I was sitting in the front, and was quite bored of using my phone and then I looked back to see literally almost everyone on their smartphone-- adults and teenagers.
Smartphones have become an important part of many people's lives, it's something that's almost always in the reach of our hands. Glued on to us in our pockets or bags. Wether it's at the dinner table or hanging out with friends.
Phones have become an essential tool in teenager's lives. It helps us communicate with friends and family, used for entertainment, for school work and to keep important information saved.
For example, my sister Vanessa says, "After I got a cell phone in 6th grade, it had a positive impact. I grew closer with peers and friends because we would be able to talk more and we like memes so it would be funny. I felt more connected with them, the only thing was that I talked to people more online than in person."
It didn't influence her negatively, but there's that desire to pick up her phone and just check what's going on.
When she asked about the friends she doesn't normally speak to in person but do so online, she responded with, "it sucks I guess, because I want to talk to them in person too, but I don't want to be the first one to talk. It doesn't make me sad or anything, it's just a bummer."
Regardless she's grateful for her phone, and it's usefulness.
There's a huge portion of us who contribute to the 'camera eats first' culture - a global phenomenon of publicizing what you eat on social media and friends. Or the tendency a lot of us have to post what we feel or how we're doing. Wether or not you have 'cell phone addiction' we have become reliant on our phones - some more than others.
It's common for many folks now, including myself, to just turn on your phone and check the time, or the urge to look at the notification you just received. Many of us pick it up to fill our boredom, or to escape an awkward situation.
For teenagers, it helps us greatly in school and out, but has the excessive amount of screen time in a teenager's life become harmful or not?
According to NIDA for teens, the term homophobia (no-mobile-phobia) means the fear of having no cell phone contact. In a study conducted by Kashfia Nehrin Rahman, a high school student from South Dakota, she found that teens are vulnerable to stress and anxiety when they're seperated from their phones.
As stated in the article "The Dangers of Teenage Cell Phone Addiction & How to Avoid Them," teen suicide rates have escalated in the digital age and have virtually coincided with the growing acquisition rate and societal dependence on mobile devices.
This could be just a correlation but it's not. There's enough evidence that makes "the excessive use of a phone, a factor to having mental issues" a factual statement.
The primary uses of our phones used to be just for messages, emails, maps, etc but obviously over the years, as the internet was established, it's used a lot more for other things like social media and an easier accessible library, etc.
Due to it's reliance, homophobia became a common thing.
In a 2019 Yerba Buena High School survey, 60% of fellow YB students feared or got anxious when not having their phones with them. This is mostly due to them being worried they lost it, because they'd just normally have it on them or the missed calls and messages they'd receive without it.
Or just with having that feeling of being safe because you know if anything bad were to happen, you could call someone for help.
According to modern researchers, using your cellphone to much could cause headaches, decreased attention, shortness of temper, sleep disorders and depression.
For example, I've went through some ups and downs in life and having the whole internet at the tip of my fingers hasn't been so healthy during some hardships.
Although having my phone has been beneficial, it has also negatively affected me. Not the phone itself, but what's on it.
The reason for this was because my cell phone has caused me to isolate myself in the past. It has kept me distracted and has contributed to my procrastination and not getting things done.
I talked to less people and spent my time watching Youtube or Netflix, forgetting and being lazy about things like getting school work done. It affected my grades horribly.
When I asked Vanessa how cell phones affected our family, she believes it created a barrier within us. "We're all still here but we are not. We do our own stuff now, we stopped playing together like how we used to."
There was a time in life when my sister told me, "all you do is be on that phone." The first time she ever told me something like that, it really broke my heart, but I didn't know how to get out of the habit of using my phone a little too much.
Social Media played a part in my depression at the time. It could be a really dark place to go to, filled with post and news that could bring someone down. For a while, I felt like I had to look a certain way like others. So it also sucks that social media can cause insecurities and low self esteem because of comparing yourself with others.
"It's addicting to see others in scandals, and others posting about their life on the internet, but it's also a dark place where people bully others and bring negative vibes to the internet," says Vanessa.
At some point, I always had my head down because I would have some really bad headaches. I spent a lot of my free time on my phone and sleeping a little too much, instead of doing a hobby or making plans.
It's important to take the time to put the phone down because you don't realize what you're missing out on. Our phones help us in many ways but they can also be dangerous and disconnect us from the world. When you look at the bigger picture, you do see that there's a lot of more important things than a phone.
How does someone become addicted to their cell phone? How do you stop it?
According to Stephanie Borgland, a neuroscientist and associate professor at the University of Calgary, we can become compulsively attached to the cues of phone use.
"We cling to the physical stimuli our brains have linked to reward." Dopamine, a neurotransmitter associated with reward-motivated behavior, contributes to feelings of pleasure and satisfaction, and plays a part in addiction.
Things such as a notification of someone liking and commenting on social media post, or receiving a game notification of clan points, or a favorite youtube just posted triggers our natural tendencies.
To prevent any cell phone addiction from escalating, a few things you could do is keeping track of how much time you use your cel phone and set a boundary. Unplug yourself from this tool every now and then. There's so many things that could be done in replace of being glued to the phone, learn an instrument or try something new, make plans and go out.
What are your interests? You could join a club, a sport, or attend something fun like workshops related to your interest? It's a simple as prioritizing your responsibilities rather than your phone. It could be harder than it seems because we all have lazy days, but just take the time and enjoy your surroundings.
The other day, as I was taking the bus home from school I noticed how crowded it was. Normally at the time I take the bus home, there's plenty of empty seats but on this day they were all filled, there were even a few people standing. I was sitting in the front, and was quite bored of using my phone and then I looked back to see literally almost everyone on their smartphone-- adults and teenagers.
Smartphones have become an important part of many people's lives, it's something that's almost always in the reach of our hands. Glued on to us in our pockets or bags. Wether it's at the dinner table or hanging out with friends.
Phones have become an essential tool in teenager's lives. It helps us communicate with friends and family, used for entertainment, for school work and to keep important information saved.
For example, my sister Vanessa says, "After I got a cell phone in 6th grade, it had a positive impact. I grew closer with peers and friends because we would be able to talk more and we like memes so it would be funny. I felt more connected with them, the only thing was that I talked to people more online than in person."
It didn't influence her negatively, but there's that desire to pick up her phone and just check what's going on.
When she asked about the friends she doesn't normally speak to in person but do so online, she responded with, "it sucks I guess, because I want to talk to them in person too, but I don't want to be the first one to talk. It doesn't make me sad or anything, it's just a bummer."
Regardless she's grateful for her phone, and it's usefulness.
There's a huge portion of us who contribute to the 'camera eats first' culture - a global phenomenon of publicizing what you eat on social media and friends. Or the tendency a lot of us have to post what we feel or how we're doing. Wether or not you have 'cell phone addiction' we have become reliant on our phones - some more than others.
It's common for many folks now, including myself, to just turn on your phone and check the time, or the urge to look at the notification you just received. Many of us pick it up to fill our boredom, or to escape an awkward situation.
For teenagers, it helps us greatly in school and out, but has the excessive amount of screen time in a teenager's life become harmful or not?
According to NIDA for teens, the term homophobia (no-mobile-phobia) means the fear of having no cell phone contact. In a study conducted by Kashfia Nehrin Rahman, a high school student from South Dakota, she found that teens are vulnerable to stress and anxiety when they're seperated from their phones.
As stated in the article "The Dangers of Teenage Cell Phone Addiction & How to Avoid Them," teen suicide rates have escalated in the digital age and have virtually coincided with the growing acquisition rate and societal dependence on mobile devices.
This could be just a correlation but it's not. There's enough evidence that makes "the excessive use of a phone, a factor to having mental issues" a factual statement.
The primary uses of our phones used to be just for messages, emails, maps, etc but obviously over the years, as the internet was established, it's used a lot more for other things like social media and an easier accessible library, etc.
Due to it's reliance, homophobia became a common thing.
In a 2019 Yerba Buena High School survey, 60% of fellow YB students feared or got anxious when not having their phones with them. This is mostly due to them being worried they lost it, because they'd just normally have it on them or the missed calls and messages they'd receive without it.
Or just with having that feeling of being safe because you know if anything bad were to happen, you could call someone for help.
According to modern researchers, using your cellphone to much could cause headaches, decreased attention, shortness of temper, sleep disorders and depression.
For example, I've went through some ups and downs in life and having the whole internet at the tip of my fingers hasn't been so healthy during some hardships.
Although having my phone has been beneficial, it has also negatively affected me. Not the phone itself, but what's on it.
The reason for this was because my cell phone has caused me to isolate myself in the past. It has kept me distracted and has contributed to my procrastination and not getting things done.
I talked to less people and spent my time watching Youtube or Netflix, forgetting and being lazy about things like getting school work done. It affected my grades horribly.
When I asked Vanessa how cell phones affected our family, she believes it created a barrier within us. "We're all still here but we are not. We do our own stuff now, we stopped playing together like how we used to."
There was a time in life when my sister told me, "all you do is be on that phone." The first time she ever told me something like that, it really broke my heart, but I didn't know how to get out of the habit of using my phone a little too much.
Social Media played a part in my depression at the time. It could be a really dark place to go to, filled with post and news that could bring someone down. For a while, I felt like I had to look a certain way like others. So it also sucks that social media can cause insecurities and low self esteem because of comparing yourself with others.
"It's addicting to see others in scandals, and others posting about their life on the internet, but it's also a dark place where people bully others and bring negative vibes to the internet," says Vanessa.
At some point, I always had my head down because I would have some really bad headaches. I spent a lot of my free time on my phone and sleeping a little too much, instead of doing a hobby or making plans.
It's important to take the time to put the phone down because you don't realize what you're missing out on. Our phones help us in many ways but they can also be dangerous and disconnect us from the world. When you look at the bigger picture, you do see that there's a lot of more important things than a phone.
How does someone become addicted to their cell phone? How do you stop it?
According to Stephanie Borgland, a neuroscientist and associate professor at the University of Calgary, we can become compulsively attached to the cues of phone use.
"We cling to the physical stimuli our brains have linked to reward." Dopamine, a neurotransmitter associated with reward-motivated behavior, contributes to feelings of pleasure and satisfaction, and plays a part in addiction.
Things such as a notification of someone liking and commenting on social media post, or receiving a game notification of clan points, or a favorite youtube just posted triggers our natural tendencies.
To prevent any cell phone addiction from escalating, a few things you could do is keeping track of how much time you use your cel phone and set a boundary. Unplug yourself from this tool every now and then. There's so many things that could be done in replace of being glued to the phone, learn an instrument or try something new, make plans and go out.
What are your interests? You could join a club, a sport, or attend something fun like workshops related to your interest? It's a simple as prioritizing your responsibilities rather than your phone. It could be harder than it seems because we all have lazy days, but just take the time and enjoy your surroundings.