The Uses of Smartphones

In recent years, the world has seen a huge number of negative effects smartphone technology has on the well-being and prosperity of people especially, vulnerable adolescents. Jean Twenge has a name for this generation of young people, “iGen”- those born after 1995 are at a higher risk of suicide, depression, and delayed adolescents. There are so many great features on smartphones that is making it “iGen” teens hard to put these devices down. It is apparent more than ever that smartphones have had a profound influence on adolescent’s overall health and well-being.

However, not all of the influences of smartphone technology have been positive, smartphones are causing mental health problems among teens.

First and foremost, the increased use of smartphones among adolescents are at a higher risk of suicide. Jeanna Twenge, a professor of psychology at San Diego State University research found that teens who spent over five hours a day on their smartphone devices are 71 percent very likely to increase suicide risk factor tremendously. The increase amount of time spent on these devices will elevate the risk of teen suicides.

Secondly, the amount of time young people spent on their smartphones has been linked to increased rates of teen depression. The rise of depression symptoms and suicidal behaviors go hand in hand as a result of smartphone technology use in teens. The more screen time teens have would also mean more time to view unhealthy social media dramas, feeling rejected from peers, comparing unrealistic social media (Instagram, Snapchat, Facebook) lives to their own, and overall, wasted time. Teens struggle with low self-esteem issues, while browsing their devices their emotions increase, depression is the result of these emotions. Smartphone technology can make young people who are already vulnerable feel more isolated, instead of connecting them with one another. These feelings of mixed emotions cause young people to feel excluded by peers and lead to depression.

In addition, delayed adolescents are one of the main concerns for our young people's health. Teens are spending a lot of their free time on smartphones with the purpose of communicating with others, because of this, they are lacking face-to-face communication. Instead of going out or dating, many teens prefer to stay at home and use their smartphones to connect to others. As Jeanna Twenge observes, when teens do hang out in person, they remain attached to their smartphones, avoiding real one-on-one conversation. Teens are in no hurry to grow up and are postponing adulthood which in the long run will enable them to function in the real world.

To conclude, everything has its pros and cons and smartphones too have their positives and negatives. Smartphone and tablet devices play a major role in our lives, which brings many benefits to us. If we use these devices productively and limit screen time. From smartphone technology, there are helpful programs to help counter or prevent the symptoms of mental illness and help adolescents to live a productive happy life. In the end, smartphones can help adolescents but in moderation, it all depends on how these devices are being used, sitting home browsing social media for hours, isn’t beneficial for your overall well-being. We need to look at smartphone technology as a necessary part of the present and future and guide our young people by talking to them, suggesting ways to properly use them to benefit their well-being and health. An assistant professor of psychology Sarah Rose Cavanagh writes, “Yes, we should put down our phones once in a while and take a walk in the damn woods.”

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