Are You Addicted? Then Put The Phone Down!

Let’s start out by asking a couple questions: How often are you on your phone? Do you check your notifications every 5 seconds? Then you may be quite addicted to your phone. In this day and age, the younger generation always has its nose in their phone and think that what’s on their phone is their whole lives. I know that I have been guilty of always being on my phone looking at the latest stories on Facebook. I have also been guilty of being on my phone when I am out with my boyfriend and I know my focus should be on him by asking him how he has been. Social media and the cell phone have been a way that causes the interaction face to face to lower.

I will admit that the invention of the cell phone has its advantages. I know when I am going somewhere new, I use my phone as a GPS in order to get to where I need to go. Along with this, I have also found it useful that I can have my phone as a way to contact someone if I was in an accident. I know that I had to call roadside assistance when I locked my keys into my car. Overall, there are quite a few ups about the cell phone but where there are the ups there is always the downs.

As new generations come and go, the cell phone will always be here and always advancing with more updates. There are many downfalls that go along with having a cell phone. The first major downfall of having a phone is that it causes a lot of distractions in life. As I said before, I have been guilty from time to time of doing this from being with friends to being on a date. Distractions are everywhere but the most that I see people get distracted is when they are on their phones. There are people that tend to look down at their cell phones at the latest scores for sport events or all these notifications that pop up on their lock/home screen. It’s almost like they are all zombies and all they want to do is be on their phone. I know in church that the pastor always said that we worship 1 God but I feel as though the phone is becoming more of a god here in the last few years.

Have you ever been sitting down doing homework and all the sudden you hear or feel a vibration coming from your phone? You look and pull up the home screen and find out that it was a false alarm. This may be a sign that you are so addicted that your brain wants you to believe that your phone went off when in reality it never did. This is also know as Phantom Pocket Vibration Syndrome. This is a symptom that happens when you’re on your phone and so much dopamine is sent to the brain and this makes you believe your phone is going off. I will admit that I have been on my phone so long that when I put it down, after 30 minutes or so I’ll hear something. I look at my phone and it turns out that nothing ever popped up.

I have been known to be on my phone for 5-6 hours a day. This includes the following: On certain apps, texting, and even just opening up the phone. I talked to a friend of mine, Nathan Craig, and he said this: “If I had to guess probably 4-5 hours a day on my phone if I had to guess but it could be more but that could also include just checking it and listening to music etc.” On average, teens spend about more hours on media than they do sleep.

All this is a problem because it isn’t healthy at all. I feel as though people should spend more time with loved ones rather than their phone. I believe that it’s nice to have a phone but also it is a curse. Go outside for fresh air with your friends. Get away for a while and try to enjoy life!