Cell Phones: What's Wrong With Too Much? by Carolina Proctor

Picture this: you’re sitting at a red light behind a car and the light turns green. Five seconds pass. Nothing happens. You honk the horn. Still no response from the driver in front of you. Why aren’t they moving? you wonder. As you get out of the lane to pass them, you notice that the driver is engrossed in something happening on their phone. Lately, events like this have become common. It is hard to be in a public space and not notice someone who is captivated by a phone. Cell phones have become a huge part of our daily lives, but is it possible that we’re using them too much? Do cell phones have any effects on the people who use them? What would happen if you tried to limit the use of your phone?

When I am away from my phone, I am constantly worried about the texts that I am missing because I feel obligated to respond quickly to people. It turns out that I am not alone. According to a study done on high schoolers in China, because of social ties that are maintained over cell phones, addictive mobile phone users generally experience anxiety when they are away from their phones (Yang, et al.). After you are on your phone for prolonged periods, you become accustomed to constantly being able to respond to notifications. As a result, when you try and spend time away from your cell phone, it may be anxiety-inducing and bad for your mental health.

Sometimes, I find it hard to put my phone down and go to bed because I can’t stop finding things that entertain me. In an article for the Ellis County Press, Glenn Mollette mentions that a study found “Thirty-five percent of people using phones less than average experienced sleep difficulty compared to 42% of those with average or above average phone usage” (Mollette). The unlimited access to entertainment that phones provide can make it difficult to put your phone down when it is time to sleep. You shouldn’t be losing hours of sleep each night to the distractions that your phone provides.

When friends on social media post pictures of themselves hanging out without me, it makes me feel upset and like I am not wanted. In a survey conducted on 8th graders at CMS, one student also said that when they use social media, they often find themselves upset or hurt when they see people hanging out without them in posts (8th Grader at CMS). Cell phones only worsen this situation because they provide constant, portable, easy access to social media. On top of that, having social media on your cell phone can distract you from doing important tasks. Sometimes, I find it very hard to concentrate on my schoolwork when I have my phone around because I feel that looking at social media will be more interesting than doing work. In an interview, 8th grader Grace Zhang agreed with this. She said that because there is so much going on, it can be hard to put social media down and do other tasks (Zhang). The fact that we use cell phones so often does not help this matter. Being on and around your cell phone so often can make it tempting to check social media, which can distract you from other tasks.

Some argue that communicating via cell phone can improve your social life. In Hannah Natanson’s Washington Post article, she interviews Massachusetts Institute of Technology psychologist Sherry Turkle about her views on texting. Turkle points out that if done well, texting can improve interpersonal relationships (Natanson). Although this may be true, a study from the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business found that after people used their cell phones for a short period of time, they were less likely to volunteer for community services than the people who hadn’t used their phones (Rattue). When I participate in activities with others, I always get a sense of belonging; being away from other people makes me feel isolated and like I am wasting my time. If you communicate too often with people over the phone, you’ll have less desire to communicate with people in real life and the feeling of isolation may become constant.

So how can you fix these problems? Well, the next time you pick up your phone, try to be mindful of how much time you’re spending on it. If you limit your cell phone use to necessary communication, your phone will go from being a portable device of distracting entertainment and information to being a portable device that assists you in situations where you need it. And remember, everyone can benefit from less time on phones and more time in the real world.

]]>