Cell Phone Health Risks: Exploring the Physical and Mental Impacts

Cell phones are a great way to communicate with people all over the world at any time of the day; although this may sound stupendous, It may be the reason why our society is in such a critical condition. Approximately two-thirds of the world’s population owns a cell phone which means they have connections not only to social media but to basically everything they want. Having a technical device with you almost 24 hours of the day can be harmful in many ways, not only physically but mentally as well.

It can make you get distracted by the things going on in real life and get you addicted to the ones going on in the device, causing you health problems.

Sleep Disruption and Nighttime Device

Usage The problems start with the fact that 71 percent of people sleep either holding their smartphone, having it in bed with them, or having it on their nightstand. So many people use their smartphones as their alarm clocks, and it makes sense that many would want their phones within arm’s reach. But when your cell is that close to you, the temptation to check social media sites, work email, and/or the news headlines is often too strong to resist, even if it’s late at night. As a result, you might feel energized from interacting with others or stressed out by something that you read when you should actually be relaxing. That partly explains why people who consume electronic media in bed are at higher risk for insomnia. Not only does it interfere with your sleep, but it also damages your eyes. Smartphones emit something called blue light, which is a type of light that the brain interprets as daylight. The Blue light actually suppresses a hormone that affects circadian rhythm and should increase when you are preparing for bedtime called melatonin. This causes your brain to get confused and think that the sun is out, making it even tougher to fall asleep.

Mental Health Implications of Cell Phone Use

Health problems aren’t only the bad thing about your cell phones but actual mental ones. Most people become addicted and engaged in all types of social media that change the way they view the world. For instance, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram attract young teens’ attention to always want to be on their cell phones to be checking what’s going on almost every minute of the day with their friends. This, in this case, causes teens to think they c “can’t live without a cell phone” and even check it up to 300 times a day. Cell phones allow us to distribute information at a rate that has never been experienced before. Now society is going to have to adjust to this,’ said Cal Evans, executive director of compliance for the Jordan District. Stating how students have suffered in many ways due to cell phones being used while the teachers are trying to give out their lessons.

Distracted Driving and Safety Hazards

According to the National Safety Council, cell phones use while driving has been a common problem ever since cell phones were invented. More than 1.6 million crashes annually have accrued. This means accidents by texting while driving are 6 times more likely to happen than drinking while driving. Not only is driving and using your phone the problem but also walking and not being aware of what’s going on around you due to the distraction of your phone. Many people have been in severe accidents and have even died due to the fact of them not being aware of what was going on around them and more aware of what was happening on their phones. For instance, according to USA Today News, nearly 6,000 deaths have been caused by dangerously distracted people.

Works Cited

1. Adams, J. G. (2014). Distracted walking: Cell phones increase injury risk for college pedestrians. Journal of Safety Research, 50, 101-10.
2. World Health Organization. (2011). Mobile phone use: A growing problem of driver distraction.
3. Ching, C. C. L., & Papagiannidis, S. (2017). Online social media fatigue and psychological wellbeing—A study of compulsive use, fear of missing out, fatigue, anxiety and depression. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 115, 74-80.

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