Smartphones are a part of pretty much everybody’s daily life from first waking up and checking the time, to watching that final TikTok before going to bed. And while phones have given us numerous advantages and allowed people’s daily lives to flow more easily, they also have dealt a lot of damage, much of which hasn’t even been uncovered yet.
In recent years, anxiety and stress among young people has skyrocketed. And with recent studies, it’s shown that smartphones cause a lot of it. The stimulation from calls, texts, and social media lead to unnecessary distress.
In the past few years, the average time a adult in the United States spent on a phone or electronic device a day went from 11 hours to 19. Multiple studies already give the implications screen time can have on children, but what about adults? While no exact amount of time is recommended, there is a plethora of evidence that screen time can be detrimental to your health.
Studies have shown that too much time on a device makes the risk of depression rise substantially. So why is it a surprise that depression rates have increased significantly in recent years especially when the average time spent on a screen in the U.S. a day is an astonishing 19 hours?
There are so many negative effects from screen time and too many people just ignore them. Insomnia, headaches, eye strain, neck and shoulder pain, back pain, and more. These are just a few of the issues caused by spending too much time on a screen.
Is that why my back always hurts?
— Senior Alejandro Esperante
So why is it that with so many issues or “side effects” caused by electronics, people still use them?
“I think people just don’t think anything bad will happen to them,” said senior Joseph Batalla.
With smartphones being a fairly new introduction, having only been around less than 20 years, the impacts they have on humans are still being discovered. Recent studies had revealed that developing addictive behaviors with phones and social media can happen. And, pretty easily, too.
“Honestly, that’s true,” said senior Diego Garcia expressing how common phone addiction is.
These addictive behaviors interfere with everyday life and are a cause for concern not only due to impacts we are aware of, but also because of the ones we aren’t.
So, next time you catch yourself spending hours of the day on a device, maybe stop and give yourself a break.
