Is your phone dirtier than a toilet?

Do you ever think about how dirty your cell phone is? We take our phones with us everywhere… literally, even to the bathroom! People are so concerned with being in constant communication with others that they do not second guess where their phones end up picking up germs and bacteria. Watch this short video to put in perspective how much bacteria and germs can be found on a cell phone. People are so concerned with germs. For example, when you go to a public bathroom do you use your foot to flush the toilet? Do you grab a paper towel to open the door? Do you wash you instantly wash you hands after coming near anything gross like taking out the trash? Do you always wash your hands before eating a meal?

“A cell phone has 18 times more bacteria than a public restroom”. (Fox News) There are multiple reasons why a phone gets filthy with germs and bacteria. People are constantly touching others, handling dirty money, touching things filled with germs, handling food, bringing their phones to the bathroom, and swapping phones with others. People wash their hands constantly and avoid germs, but before a person washes their hands.. it is likely that they pick up their phone transferring germs to their screen. People later then pick up their phones and put it directly on their face to make a call, transferring germs right back to where they started. I know I am not the only person who has seen someone put their phone directly in their mouth when their hands are full and they have no where to set their phone down. Bacteria grows quicker when it is in warm places and dark. Phones naturally grow warmer when we use them constantly and we also keep them in small, dark, warm places- allowing bacteria to spread even more.

“People are just as likely to get sick from their phones as from handles of the bathroom” –Dr. Jeffery Cain (President of the American Academy of Family Physicians). From researching this topic, I advise you to pay more attention to where you place your phone, when you touch your phone after being in contact in germs and to wash your phone more often then you do now to avoid coming in contact with bacteria such as “E. coli, MRSA and the flu”. Not only will you avoid higher risks of becoming sick, you will protect your skin (from when you talk on the phone) from developing acne and from other bacteria that may cause your skin to be irritated. 

Germs-on-phone

Sources:

https://www.phonesoap.com/how-dirty-are-cell-phones/

http://www.kcim.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/Germs-on-phone.png

7 thoughts on “Is your phone dirtier than a toilet?

  1. Sarah Abdallah

    This is crazy because people put their phones in their mouths all the time, usually to make music louder. I actually see that all the time its an actual thing. or maybe I should just stop hanging out with the people who do this because it is clearly not the best idea after that video. Heres a link on how to turn your mouth into an iPod speaker. Disgusting right?

  2. Isabella Fordyce

    it definitely makes sense. Stupid kids at my HS would “lick their phones” whenever they wanted to get sick to miss class and as gross as it was it would work almost every time…

  3. Lauren Marie Freid

    It is hard to believe that our cell phones are dirtier than a bathroom. But, it makes perfect sense. We put our phones down on about every surface imaginable, and we don’t know what has been there previously. This article actually made me think about where I put my phone and to be more cautious of it. Since phones are placed just about everywhere, they come into contact with germs, with then can easily cause us to catch something (direct causality).

  4. Amanda Reznyk

    This article definitely doesn’t surprise me…just think about all the places you bring your phone! Even when you go into the bathroom you put your phone down, but you’re never actually thinking about this. You just think of the obvious fact that the toilet seat is disgusting. This does put things into perspective for me, though. I’ll have to think twice about where I put my phone from now on! Also, read this article about germs on our phones. You might find it interesting.

    http://cell-phones.toptenreviews.com/smartphones/terrifying-germs-that-live-on-your-smartphone.html

  5. Olivia Yvette Noble

    I can completely agree with this. I try my best to always watch out for germs, and do everything your suppose to do after doing something. This video was very good at explaining the germs on a cell phone. There is really honestly nothing a person can do to get completely away from germs. I wonder if a cell phone has just as many germs as maybe a classroom. It would be really interesting if we could find out places, objects etc that can carry the most germs.

  6. Corey Michael Lapenna

    As i read through this i began to think about how dirty my phone actually is. My phone not only is always with me no matter where i go yet it also encounters not only my hands but countless others too. The amount of germs that are transferred onto my phone and then my own hands is scary. The statistics brought up in this blog made it clear just how dirty people are. The thing that people are always attached to is filled with a ridiculous amount of germs, which only leads us to believe that phones are the perfect device not only to be connected with others but also to transfer diseases.

  7. Stephanie Rose Polinak

    I’m shocked by this! I’ve never really thought about it before but I do take my phone literally everywhere even if I’m just leaving my room for a few minutes. Getting sick from the germs on my phone has never crossed my mind even though it has been in some nasty places. I wonder if there are any further studies on this describing the trends and if there has been an increase in illness or something.

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