Common Sense Media Addiction

As a teenager I use my phone a lot. I pull it out when I have nothing to do or if I'm in a situation with people that I really don't want to talk to. I wouldn't say I'm addicted to my phone, but I would say it's definitely harming my social interaction. In paragraph 4 of the article it says "If your teen would prefer gaming indoors, alone, as opposed to going out to the movies, meeting friends for burgers or any of the other ways teens build camaraderie, you may have a problem." I definitely

Twenge argues that as a result of the introduction of the iPhone, today’s teenagers are safer since they stay at home more often, and thus are less independent and radical than the teenagers of the past few decades. She endorses this argument with statistics that suggest that this generation of adolescents is less social, as seen in decreased dating, sexual activity, and teenage birthrate trends. She provides readers with the fact that “…only about 56 percent of high-school seniors in 2015 went out on dates; for Boomers and Gen Xers, the number was about 85 percent.” However, Twenge overlooks the fact that there are new risks to the safety of teenagers; there are many online predators masquerading themselves to lure teenagers and these teenagers have also become less worldly-wise. She only discusses statistics that work for her argument and does not consider other implications that the introduction of the smartphone has instigated. Thus, her argument is insufficient since she does not consider other aspects of adolescents’ safety. Moreover, Twenge is repetitive in her emphasis on the rates of unhappiness and depression in youth that result from using smartphones. Nevertheless, she conversely supplies only one study to support these claims: The Monitoring the Future survey is a long-term question-based study funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse. Using this study as her only piece of evidence does not effectively support her argument since this survey is funded for the purpose of studying drug abuse and it is unclear whether it is focused only on this purpose or on other aspects of teenagers’ lives. To strengthen her analysis, she must warrant her claim with additional data from studies that approach the problem in different ways. Furthermore, Twenge claims that the smartphone has resulted in

The article states, “Fifty percent of teens feel they are addicted to their mobile devices...A larger number of parents, 59% said their teens were addicted. The poll involved 1,240 interviews with parents and their children, ages 12 to 18.” Wallace and other parents interviewed for the story, are convinced that teens are practically attached to their phones, even the teenagers admit this statement it true.

EVIDENCE : Half of teens now feel “addicted” to their mobile devices – and 60 percent of parents agree with

“Furthermore, 15 percent of those surveyed said the iPhone was turning them into a media addict; 30 percent called it a "doorway into the world"; 25 percent found the phone "dangerously alluring" and 41 percent said losing their iPhone would be "a tragedy." (Citied by Dan Hope, TechNewsDaily 2010).

Being tethered to a phone, as opposed to simply having and using one, has become the norm and does more harm than good at times. People, especially teenagers, cannot seem to put the phones down. Some even admit to being addicted to their smart phones and experience anxiety when they are without it. According to Ellen Gibson, author of “Sleep with Your iPhone? You're Not Alone”, more than thirty-five percent of adults in the U.S. have a smart phone; two thirds of those people actually sleep with their phone due to the anxiety they feel from the thought of missing something such as a text, phone call, email, or social media posting. Gibson states “…being away from their phone will almost certainly cause separation anxiety… some people have become so dependent on being able to use their smartphones to go online anytime, anywhere, that without that access, they ‘can no longer handle their daily routine’”. To some, being addicted to a phone is like being addicted to a drug; there is a strong dependency that makes it hard to focus or concentrate on anything else. After speaking with a group of students from Cranston High School in Connecticut, Turkle says “These young people live in a state of waiting for connection. And they are willing to take risks, to put themselves on the line. Several admit that tethered to their phones, they get into accidents when walking” (236). This is an issue that will

Around six billion people in the world own a cell phone, which is more than how many people have access to a bathroom. Of the six billion, more than 50% of teens feel like they are addicted to their phone, according to a 2016 survey. Ramsay Brown, co-founder, of Dopamine Labs, explains how app developers want people to get addicted. “These apps and games seem like they’re just here to help you connect with your friends or show you funny memes and cute kittens. But what’s going on is creepier:

Ana Homayoun, author of Social Media Wellness: Helping Teens and Tweens Thrive in an Unbalanced Digital World, wrote an article in The New York Times about the conflicts parents face with allowing their children to have smartphones. She gives insight on how to minimize the risk of smartphone addiction by establishing guidelines and monitoring children's use.

When people think of addictions, usually, drugs and chemical substances come to mind. A frequent trend observed in today’s age is not being able to go anywhere without one’s digital device and being addicted to that device, especially one’s cell phone. Adopting a cell phone separation anxiety, is a type of behavioral addiction that is seen more and more today. On average, people are spending about three hours on their phones each day. Alter states, “‘Behavioral addictions are really widespread now...risen with the adoption of newer more addictive social networking platforms, tablets and smartphones’” (Dreifus). As new technologies that cater to people’s wants increase, addiction to these technologies will increase as well. People become so attached to their phones that they will perhaps get distracted from their current situation. In the article “Hooked On Our Smartphones”, the author Jane E. Brody talked about how sometimes commuters or drivers put themselves in a dangerous position when they pay more attention to their phone instead of what surrounds them. The almost

A reporter for CNN, Kelly Wallace, addresses her concern about the future generation in her article, “Half of Teens Think They’re Addicted To Their Smartphones.” After pointing out factual information from a variety of polls and reviews about mobile device usage, she expresses her panic over digital addiction. Not only does she mention teens suffering from this potential “public health threat,” but parents are added in as well. As Wallace collects information from various surveys, she also gathers opinions from parents and a digital detox expert named Holland Haiis. Throughout all the statistics Wallace mentions in her article, she also discretely mentions the importance of rules and boundaries. Regardless, the increasing amount of use

I feel that this is a relevant issue in this society. Most teens like me are born in a society that is used to electronic devices. Kids that are younger than me are definitely given some sort of device sice they are young. I think some teens are too adicted to their phone. As I read through the article, I noteced the article is dedicated to the fact that teens spend too much time on their phone. I agree with that, but I also think being accicted to a phone is normal. There is a quote in the article by the digital detox expert Holland Hails saying, "Technological addiction can happen to anyone," in her book, she even discribed technology as, "the new 21st century addiction." I strongly agree with these quotes indicating that an technological

In addition, many children are required to use technology while there are in school. There is also a plethora of other reasons in which someone must use technology or a mobile device. While although there are many instances in which both adults and youth must use technology, enough is enough. Technology addiction is causing numerous health issues, causing people to lose their identity and even causing people to harm their relationships in the real world. However, the use of technology is not the issue, the issue is the abuse of technology and as a result, becoming addicted to it. If both parents and children are able to recognize the problem and use the steps to change something in the way they use technology, then maybe there would not be so many individuals addicted. Agarwal finds that, “More than 60% of Americans said they were addicted to the internet” (171). However, this statistic only includes those who were able to admit they were addicted. There may be many more people who need help and are unwilling to admit it. Both parents and their children need to step up and face the outbreak with confidence. As Vince Lombardi says, “The difference between a successful person and others is not a lack of strength, not a lack of knowledge, but rather a lack in will”. What Lombardi was trying to say can apply directly so how to solve technology addiction. If people know about the issue, but are

The man stood there with a gun in his hand aiming directly at me. My heart began pounding with fear on the apprehension of what was about to happen. His eyes were that of a killer, full of hatred and revenge. Feeling helpless as a fish out of water, I stood there hoping it was a dream. Adrenaline began to rush through my veins as I stood there for what seemed to be years.

Over the past years, improper smartphone usage has been a widespread concernedly problem among teens and college students. According to Hawi and Samaha (2016), “Smartphones are becoming an integral part of the lives of all age worldwide. People feel inseparable from their smartphones” (p. 321). Problematic smartphone use are considered as an “important indicators that someone is on the path to smartphone addiction” (Cevik, Gokcearslan, Haslaman, & Mumcu, 2016, p. 640). As the emergence of smartphone addiction, a great deal of negative effects come along as well. Researchers have worked to figure out the causal factors of smartphone addiction from both academic and psychological field. In the meantime, social media becomes a controversial topic among researchers since students spend most of their smartphone time on social media application. The question that whether social media is beneficial for students’ life is highly debated.

The smartphone is still a fairly new invention and is constantly being developed and improved. This device has integrated itself into our culture and is slowly becoming essential to our lives. The younger generation known as "Millennials" in the age range of 18-35 years old check their cell phones on average about 75.6 times a day (Soto et al., 2017). This number is exceptionally high when compared to the older generation who only check their phone around 23 times a day, according to the same research. This paper will cover cell phone addiction and its effects on the college students lifestyle. Addiction in this case is tied with the substance use criteria in The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM 5). In the criteria it states that substance use is "a pathological pattern of behaviors related to use of the substance." Extremely high smartphone use can lead to these behaviors where dependency is an issue.