Are we Too Addicted to Smartphones?

Are we too Addicted to Smartphones?

By: Ella Ylagan

In everyday life, it’s normal for people to be on their phones for many hours of the day, but normal does not mean healthy. Jane Brody’s “Hooked on Our Smartphones” is an article on how much time we really spend on our phones. In her opinion and mine, we, including myself, are in fact addicted to our phones and need to change.

First of all: the statistics. New York psychotherapist Nancy Colier’s book, “The Power of Off'' describes the reality of phone addiction. Colier writes in her book, which is referenced by Brody, that “Most people check their smartphones 150 times a day or every six minutes.” Additionally, “46 percent of people say their devices are something they couldn’t live without.” Both of these statements show just how dependent people are on their phones. Being unable to live without constantly checking your phone or using your device is harmful as it is a sign of addiction.

The next thing you might be asking could be, “but is this really an addiction?” The answer is probably yes. In Gregory Jantz’s “6 Signs That You’re Addicted to Something”, he describes six ways you can tell if you are addicted to something. The signs that can be directly compared to the evidence presented by Colier are importance and cessation. Jantz asks the question, “How important has it become to your sense of self and the way you live your life?” From what Colier shows, people prioritize checking their phones often and say that they would be unable to function correctly without phones. Another sign that Jantz presents is cessation. Cessation is how a person feels when without a phone. If one feels anxious or uncomfortable without their phone, it is a good sign of addiction. How strong these feelings are display how accurate of a sign this lack of comfort is.

Some other signs of addiction cannot be shown by the study as they are more personal. The four other signs are reward response, prevalence, reverting, and disruption. To summarize, Jantz describes reward response as being the things a person feels after using their phone. Addictive thing will make a person feel better and more in control, while being without the thing will make them feel worse. Prevalence is the lack of restraint a person has. That is, using your phone longer than you had planned and thinking “Just a little bit more”, as Jantz writes. Reverting is the thoughts you have that are false and misleading. It’s thinking, “I don’t need my phone,” or “I could change anytime I want.” To put it simply, reverting is being in denial. The last sign is disruption, or how using your phone affects your relationships and life in general.

Understanding the disruption sign also lets us understand the importance of this issue. Brody writes three important things in her article, “How often is your real work interrupted by signals from your smartphone that you find impossible to ignore?”, “Have you ever avoided intimacy with your partner because you’re in the midst of iPhone Scrabble?” and “Screens are stealing time that children and adolescents should be spending on physical activity and sports, reading, or creating and engaging directly with other children, all of which are critical to healthy physical and social development.” Both of these questions showcase the true consequences of our growing addiction as a whole in society. First off, people are getting less work done and have less time for work. Work can mean anything meaningful, a job, schoolwork, hobbies, and physical work. Second off, relationships are affected negatively by the focus on phones rather than loved ones. Finally, children and adolescents’ physical and emotional growths are being affected.

If we are to be healthier as a society, we need to realize the reality of phone addiction. This includes the signs and effects. It is important to cut off time spent on phones to focus on work and meaningful relationships so we can be more productive and connected. We must recognize what is truly important to us and when and where we actually need to use our phones. The first step of doing this is asking yourself the questions, “Am I addicted to my phone?” and if yes, “How do I change?” 

Works Cited

Brody, Jane E. “Hooked on Our Smartphones.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 9 Jan. 2017, https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/09/well/live/hooked-on-our-smartphones.html. 

Jantz, Gregory. “6 Signs That You're Addicted to Something.” Psychology Today, Sussex Publishers, 5 Nov. 2014, https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/hope-relationships/201411/6-signs-youre-addicted-something. 

Schulten, Katherine. “Device Addiction?” The New York Times, The New York Times, 12 Jan. 2017, https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/12/learning/device-smartphone-addiction.html?rref=collection%2Fcolumn%2Flearning-picture-prompt.