In high school, my best friend Dan put an image as his cell phone background that said “DO NOT OPEN WITHOUT INTENTION”. I thought this was really odd, that he had to have a signal to tell him not to be on his phone. Unfortunately, I now totally understand why Dan did this. I, too, have allowed myself to become too invested in my phone. I see everyone around me also on their phones, and I silently judge them for it, but upon examining myself, I know I am the same way.
Since coming to college the problem has gotten worse because I have more free time. I used to have school or work or play practice constantly, so I was unable to be on my phone. Now, I just use it as a time filler. I tried to get to the root of the problem. Is it really that I am bored? Do I have FOMO and actually want to see what other people are doing on Instagram? Are there people who I genuinely want to talk to and have enriching conversations with over Snapchat? Frankly, no. It’s not any of these. The only reason I’m on my phone so much is because it has become a habit. I think this is the case for most of us millennials and Gen Z, and even older generations. We have a constant distraction that we’ve become so used to looking at on a regular basis that it has become a compulsion to do a quick scroll through our feed when not preoccupied with something else. We are not mindful about using our phones and typically have no intentions when we unlock them.
Not being mindful about phone use is harmful for many reasons. First of all, overuse of your phone leads to battery damage, so charges do not last as long and you may find yourself prematurely needing a new phone. According to Gizmodo, using your battery so much that it gets really low, especially down to zero percent, will cause your phone to lose much of its charge ability. Constantly staring at a phone is also terrible for the eyes, because mobile screens are small and cause you to strain your eyes to read the smaller print or look at the pictures. Being addicted to a phone brings up obvious risk factors, like texting and driving, but surprisingly, 42% of people who walked into traffic during a “Don’t Walk” sign were talking on the phone, looking down at a phone, or wearing headphones, according to CNN. Hunching over to look at a mobile device or text causes poor posture and the blue light from screens disrupts the production of melatonin, leading to difficulty falling and staying asleep.
I recently made it my goal to be more mindful about using my phone. I want to open my phone when I have reason to, not thoughtlessly scroll. Over Spring break, I became so frustrated with my inability to get anything done because I was so distracted by my phone. I told my sister about this, and she simply told me to just turn it off, something that I never felt compelled enough to do. I took her advice, and then I read about 200 pages of my book. It’s often surprising what you can accomplish if you only have the willpower to get away from the screen.
Sources
https://gizmodo.com/how-to-take-care-of-your-smartphone-battery-the-right-w-513217256
https://www.medicaldaily.com/5-reasons-why-cellphones-are-bad-your-health-247624
https://www.cnn.com/2017/11/30/health/smartphone-addiction-study/index.html