The
Hidden Dangers of Mobile Phone Addiction
Cell phones have come a very long way from the basic,
heavy brick like design they once were. Advances in technology have made mobile
phones smaller, lighter, and more efficient. You can access the internet,
email, text messages, phone calls, games, social networking, and a variety of
other applications all through your smartphone. Today, almost everyone owns a smartphone
and whether we realize it or not, our lives revolve around them. While these
smartphones are quite amazing and handy, there are proving to have some serious
negative side effects. While the internet, social media, video gaming, and
online gambling can all prove to be serious addictions, I feel mobile phones
are the most dangerous since we can access all of these through them. Our
addiction to our mobile phones has resulted in a lack of real, tangible social interaction,
a false sense of relation and connection with others, and a reliance and
inability to function without them.
With the majority of society owning and actively using a
cell phone on a highly regular basis, many are blinded with the sensationalized
perks of being “plugged in”. Those who do not merit the negatives of cell
phones often say that they allow us to form relationships without having to
actually meet or interact in person. They feel that cell phones help us stay
connected to those that we do not see regularly, and help people stay in
touch. Finally, they stress the
accessibility and versatility of cell phones, and benefits of doing everything
from one easy to use device. While in theory these reasons are valid and
appealing. However, the human race has a tendency to abuse that which can be
used for good. Moderation is important in all things, and moderation is the
last word I would use to describe societies use of cell phones.
While cell phones definitely do offer an element of
sociality through various forms of communication, they have become a substitute
for in person socialization, rather than a useful addition. Most people today
would rather use a variety of intangible modes of communication such as
calling, texting, instant messaging, tweeting, liking, and favoriting. While
these all offer some form of communication on both a verbal and nonverbal
level, none of them compare with actually talking and socializing face to face
with another human being. This phenomenon has escalated to almost laughable
extremes in today’s world. Often I see two people sitting right next to each
other, completely silent, on their cell phones. Even when people are face to
face, they are distracted by their cell phone. In Britney Fitzgerald’s article
“Americans Addicted…” she discusses recently discovered facts about smartphone
use in the United States and says “What once were considered bad behaviors have
now become social norms” (Fitzgerald). This shows that as a society, we are
devolving in our social skills, and are relying on our cell phones to avoid
conversation and interaction that is necessary to developing social skills with
other human beings.
Some say that cell phones and social media especially,
allow us to stay connected with people we may not see regularly. While if used
responsibly this can be true, the use of cell phones and social media more
often than not leads to a false sense of connection with other human beings.
This false sense may satisfy our natural longing for social interaction and connection,
but is actually distancing us from real interaction, and only making us lonelier.
If people were only using cell phones to occasionally text or call a friend
they had not heard from in a while, there wouldn’t be much of a problem.
However, when we obsessively scroll through twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and
even old text messages, see the posts of people we know (or claim to know) and
we automatically make a connection with that person and that post. Whether it
is positive or negative, significant or insignificant, a connection is made. We
could be seeing posts every day from someone we haven’t talked to in months, or
even people we barely ever knew and create a false sense of relation and
connection with that person. In reality, could not even notice that you follow
their posts, yet you can feel a relatively strong sense of connection. The
International Center for Media and the Public Agenda wrote an article called
“Students Addicted to Social Media” that follows the study and results of
depriving students from their phones and social media for 24 hours. “But what
they spoke out about in the strongest terms was how their lack of access to
text messaging, phone calling, instant messaging, e-mail, and Facebook, meant
that they couldn’t connect with friends who lived close by, much less those far
away” (484). This shows that people are becoming dependent on the connection
they feel through digital communication mediums, and are relatively alone
without them.
Lastly, many seem to think that the ability to do
everything from your phone is more convenient, and makes life easier. This is
true, but what happens when you lose your phone. One students in the study
stated, “I clearly am addicted and the dependence is sickening. I feel like
most people these days are in a similar situation” (483). This student was only
asked to go for one day without their phone. Fitzgerald says “ If in some
catastrophic event they were to lose their device, 73 percent of people admit
they would feel ‘panicked’ while another 14 percent would feel ‘desperate’ ”
(Fitzgerald). Cell phones really are quite amazing, and you can do just about
anything from them. Many people’s whole lives are run through their cell
phones. The problem with having such a great dependency in one item is that it
can be easily lost, stolen, or broken. The fact that we feel great anxiety or
distress because we don’t have our phone for a few hours is enough cause for
concern.
While cell phones are quite amazing and can do just about
everything, they have become an often unhealthy accessory in the lives of many
people. This reliance on cell phones has blossomed into a very serious addiction
that is relatively overlooked by most of society. Our judgement has been
clouded by changing social norms, media hype, and the overwhelming popularity
of cell phones and mobile devices. Our addiction to our mobile phones has
resulted in a lack of real, tangible social interaction, a false sense of
relation and connection with others, and a reliance and inability to function
without them. If you are failing to see this, try it for yourself. See how long
you can go without your phone, and what kind of reactions you have. I bet the
excuses are filling your mind already as to why you are an exception, and why
you just cannot go without it. The
proof is in the pudding.
Works
Cited
Fitzgerald, Britney.
“Americans Addicted to Checking SmartPhones, Would ‘Panic’ if Lost
Device”. Huffingtonpost.com.
Huffington Post. 21 June 2012. Web. 28 May 2015.
International Center
for Media and the Public Agenda. “Students Addicted to Social Media”.
Signs of Life in
the USA. Eds. Sonia Maasik and Jack Solomon. 2015. Print
