Most teenagers are obsessed with their cellular phones and as time passes the number of teenagers who are fully engaged with their phones are slowly increasing and it is very alarming. Back in the older times where life was simple the only means of communication are through the word of mouth and letters but as our society improved so did our ways of communication. In the present time, with the help of technology, communication is now made easier with the invention of cellular phones. On the downside the contribution of the invention of this device to society is not all just pros but it also has cons. The generation of millennials, also known as the ‘Generation Z’, are mostly exposed and dependent on technology and as time passed it is indeed noticeable that there is an over usage of cellular phones particularly in teenagers. In the modern days, most teenagers are somehow addicted to their cellular phones to the point where they would not like it if their cellular phones are not with them or even the thought of spending a day without using the mentioned device can spark an argument between parent and child with that said this is bad for the teenagers in many ways. The effects of the over usage of cellular phones to teenagers can be observed through the following: their health, social interaction, and education.
One of the effects of the over usage of cellular phones to teenagers can be evidently seen in their health, not only to their physical health but also to their mental health. The over usage of cellphones has a lot of effects on both their physical and mental health. Examples of the physical effects to their health are changes in sleep patterns or lack of sleep and losing interest in activities they once found enjoyable. As one who is prone to the over usage of their phone tend to use the device regularly or even till the break of dawn they are often experiencing lack of sleep and changes in sleep patterns which are not good for their health especially for growing teenagers. Lack of sleep for teenagers can cause shift in hormones and may affect both behavior and brain development. Self-control is also affected due to lack of sleep as your state of mind is not proper anymore because of your body not getting enough rest. As per losing interest in activities this can be from different reasons. One may lose interest in activities they once found enjoyable if they are either influenced with what they keep seeing on their cellular phones or since they are too focused on their mobile device that they spend too much time using it they tend to put using the device as their priority instead of the things that they used to often do which may cause lack of exercise which is really bad for their health. Examples for the mental effects to their health are experiencing anxiety or depression and experiencing ‘phantom vibration syndrome’. They may be able to experience anxiety or depression due to bad influences or judgements that they may get or receive from social media sites when using their cellular phones. Since social media sites are platforms for free expression anything can be posted there may it be bad or good and this affects the user of these sites. Phantom vibration syndrome is a syndrome which causes one to check his or her cellular phone due to the feeling that it has vibrated or rung when it actually did not, one may be able to experience this due to too much exposure or obsession towards their mobile device. Our health is the one of the most important things that we should treasure but experiencing such effects can take a huge toll to our health.
Save your time!
We can take care of your essay
- Proper editing and formatting
- Free revision, title page, and bibliography
- Flexible prices and money-back guarantee
The social interaction that one has with other people is also affected by the over usage of cellular phones. Teenagers nowadays are focused on the different social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, and many other applications that fulfills or supplies their social enjoyment. Statistically speaking, Amanda Lenhart, an author from a study from the Pew Research Center about the Internet and technology that was posted on the 9th of April 2015, states that 24% or nearly ¼ of all the teenagers go online ‘almost constantly’ or regularly. The mentioned applications also allow them interact with their friends and family, especially those who are living far away from them, however these applications that are supposed to help them interact with people are also the reason why they lack ‘real’ social interactions. Lack of physical or ‘real’ interaction with people can also cause psychological effects to one’s well-being as interaction with people is actually what keeps one sane. There has been an article that increasingly talked about the downside to one being constantly attached to a cellular phone, this is called phubbing or ‘phone snubbing’. Phone snubbing is a trend that is sadly evident to the modern world. Phone snubbing is basically described as looking at a cell phone or any mobile device rather than interacting people or the person that you are with. The problem may start when you check your cellular phone for texts and email every few minutes or several times an hour, as all these ‘just going to check my cell phone for a while’ moments add up to a large amount of time that one has spent on the mobile device instead of interacting with people and research shows that it can be the reason why there is a damage towards your relationship with other people such as your partner and may also possibly harm your bond with your family members (Legg, 2018). According to Lee (2019), using phones may cause an addiction that can make you lose time that you are supposed to be spending with your family, may it be your partner or your children, and you may not even realize it which means that it is indeed true that over usage of cellular phones can cause conflicts with other people since not only Legg (2018) has mentioned it, but also Lee (2019).
Education is also heavily affected with the over usage of cellular phones. Education is important as it serves as our guide to success in the future but the usage of cellular phones may be a hindrance to proper and high education. There are many negative effects of the over usage of cellular phones in the education of teenagers. Examples of negative effects of the over usage of cellular phones to the education of teenagers are loss of sleep, distraction and grades. The loss of sleep which was also discussed earlier does not only affect their health but also affects their education because the teenager who over-uses his or her cellular phone might be late in school the other day or even sleep during class discussions causing them to not understand what they are supposed to learn. Teenagers having their cellular phones with them during class hours may cause them to become distracted from the class discussion. Teens are prone to distractions with cellphones because even inside of the classroom students are prone to become distracted from the lessons due to the temptations to text, play games or check their different social media accounts (Heath Wright, n.d.). The grades are also affected due to over usage of cell phones as some of the teenagers who over-use their phones have grades that are mostly average. According to Hess (2019), students, who are enrolled in schools with phone bans, earned higher test scores than those, who are enrolled in schools without phone bans. It is not only due to the dependence on the cellular device but also due to the temptation of cheating by searching for answers during quizzes or examinations. The presence of phones during the times where one should study sure does have an effect on one's effectivity to function properly.
It is indeed very alarming that most teenagers are obsessed with their cellular phones which causes bad things to happen to themselves through their health, social interactions and even their education. There are many more effects of the over usage of cellular phones, the effects mentioned where only some of the many effects, but this can serve as a warning to not only those who are involved or to the teenagers but to everyone else. Since it can be observed that the over usage of phones really does have a bad effect on one’s health, social interactions and education one should be responsible whether you are a teenager or a parent. One must be able to know how to regulate their usage of not only cellular phones but all the different devices to be able to have good health, enough social interactions and proper education. Everything, whatever it may be, that is too much can be bad for us so make sure to regulate and have self-discipline to avoid problems.
Stuck on your essay?
