Today’s world is run by technology and modern inventions. One device that is at the top of it all is the cellphone. Now a days who doesn’t have one? They control our lives. We use them to communicate, organize information, browse the web, and even just to entertain ourselves. Although there are many benefits to our phones, there are also a lot of negative effects it has on us that many of us aren’t even aware of.

One of the many negative effects that constant cellphone use causes is an increase in risk of illness. Believe it or not your phone is one of the most germ-infested objects that you may come in contact with throughout the course of a day. In just a 24 hours span, a phone may encounter many germ-infested places such as your pocket/purse, your hands, and even your face. You use it while you’re eating, you use it at the gym, and you even use it while going to the bathroom. As a matter of fact speaking of bathrooms, cellphones carry ten times more bacteria than most toilet seats.

Another issue that we have all recently seen is a rise in automobile accidents caused by texting. People are so focused on being on their phones while driving that they don’t pay attention to the road and risk putting other peoples lives in danger. It has been recorded that texting and driving makes you 23 times more likely to crash and causes 1,600,000 automobile accidents per year. Even talking on the phone instead of texting is dangerous. Even though your aren’t looking at your phone anymore you are still distracted by your phone and wont have both hands on the wheel. Being concentrated on your phone dramatically reduces your reaction time, and nothing can reduce the risk besides not using the phone while driving all together.

Not only can frequent phone use have negative psychological effects, it can also be physically damaging. Constant cellphone use has been linked to chronic pain in numerous studies. It is doing us harm in ways we would never imagine. “Cell phones require constant use of your hands, especially when sending text messages and e-mails. Responding to messages at rapid speed can cause pain and inflammation of your joints”. This leads to conditions such as carpal tunnel, a condition in which there is excessive pressure on the median nerve located in the wrist that allows feeling and movement to parts of the hand. Carpal tunnel may lead to weakness and muscle damage in the hand and fingers.

Along with all of these negative effects, constant cellphone use has also been linked to loss of vision and even more severe, brain cancer. So you tell me, is all of that worth it. Of course I’m not telling you to completely get rid of your phone but using it less often will be sure to lead to better results in the long run.

Sources:

http://www.medicaldaily.com/5-reasons-why-cellphones-are-bad-your-health-247624

http://www.livescience.com/22822-cell-phones-germs.html

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001469/#adam_000433.disease.symptoms