Smartphone Addiction Essay

“Half of Teens Think They’re Addicted to Their Smartphones”, written by Kelly Wallace is an article displaying statistics and personal experiences that prove a large number of today’s teenagers and parents are attached to their handheld devices. The article, by Wallace from CNN, was submitted on May 3, 2016, only a few short months ago.

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

We all carry a smartphone. We have what some might call an addiction for them. They are convenient in certain classes and easy to use. They are also our own escape. We can easily talk to

Cell phones and the computers are similar to each other in many different ways. One of the most common similarities is the internet aspect. With everyone connected to the internet, the adverse effects can spread throughout like a virus. “A Nielsen study released in 2010 indicated that texting was the primary reason for purchasing mobile phones and that text communication had become a "’centerpiece of mobile teen behavior.’" The modern smartphone of the 2010s is a powerful computing device, and the rapid and ongoing development of new applications provides users with a growing number of ways to use mobile phones for recreation, productivity, and social communication” (Issitt 2016). In the following Issitt states, “however, as smartphones have become more common, concerns about the detrimental effects of smartphone use have also increased.” (Issitt 2016). Issitt expresses the large growth of people with smartphones has its positives and negatives. The positives being the ability to communicate, but the negative being the effects on relationships with one another. An example of the negative side of things is the lack of interaction with people. People are more likely to call or text instead of interacting with one another. The lack of interaction can ruin relationships, or make people feel unwanted. In the article “Eurasian Journal of Educational Research,” the writer states that the internet, “can transform into an addictive instrument in excessive usage situations.” (Gunduz 2017). The statement explains the issue of the unnecessary use of the internet as a growing addictive process that is taking over more and more

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

According to Lenhart, in 2012 three quarters of teens, ages 12-17, owned cell phones. Of those teens, twenty three percent of them indicated they possessed a smartphone. With the technology advancing in cell phones, it has become yet another classroom distraction and a serious concern for cheating. With cell phones on hand, it has created an easy way to become distracted during class. Assistant Professor Campbell from the University of Kansas brought to attention, “one study found that a third of university students in the US play video games on their mobile phones and laptops during class (Gilroy, 2004 as cited in Katz, 2005).” The majority of researchers have found that mobile phones have lead to problematic use in the school environment

“How many teens are truly addicted to their devices and the internet? It is difficult to say,” says CNN’s recent article, “Half of Teens Think They’re Addicted to Their Cellphones”. Filled with absurdly ambiguous claims, the article gives a terminal diagnosis for the nation’s youth, painting satires of teens who are unable to walk from class to class without maintaining constant eye contact with their phones. At the same time, however, the author, Kelly Wallace, gives herself plenty of breathing room with statements similar to the above quote. Thus, the matter of tech addiction stands relatively untouched; the article did nothing to truly refute or support its own title claim. Such a statement cannot be truly supported because, like a multitude

Everywhere you go teens seem to be glued to their phones, tablets, or computers. Technology is an addiction that does not seem to be going away any time soon. According to the Washington Post, teens can spend up to seven or more hours on their digital devices a day and the usage is still increasing. Not surprisingly enough, more than a third of all teenagers own a cellphone, ranging from a smart phone or just a plain old-school flip phone. But can spending all that time on their computers and smart devices be such a bad thing? Today’s easy access, always on world presents a wealth of opportunity for teens as students, but also challenges them to retain them essential humanity and unique personalities.

One way that teens are being impacted by over using their cell phones is emotionally. A study by Adriana Bianchi, and James G. Phillips showed the more teens use their phones the more likely they are to be anxious, depressed, and have a low self-esteem

Cell phones are used by so many people and do so many things to help people that they have become a necessity, rather than a convenience, in order for people to carry on their lives. This necessity or dependency is the addiction that people face with their cell phones. When these people lose or break their phones they panic, feel anxiety and look for the quickest way to fix the problem. For example, the car needs the oil changed and at the same time the phone is broken. Most people today

In “Jessie Brown: Who Says Smartphone Addiction is bad thing? The case for constant connectivity” (Brown, 2012), Brown claims that the cellphone is not the problem, in fact, it is the person and how they choose to value their time while using smartphones.

The cell phone has become a centerpiece of everyday life as cell phones are evolving and have been increasing their functionalities. Today, we use them today for many others reasons than what cell phones were originally designed to do. People are using them so often that they are becoming dependent on their phones that they have even become addicted to them. Those who are addicted to their cell phones struggle to stay away from them for a certain period of time and become so indulged in all of the unique things they can provide. With cell phone addiction comes many problems or issues that can occur in an individual’s life. Cell phone addiction has lead to differences in people mentally, physically, and behaviorally.

Technology has become a great benefit to us but many people have taken it too far. According to researcher and surveys taken all over the world shows that a large number of people may have become addicted to their technological devices and are not able to make it through a day without their cell phones or other technological devices. Many have concerns that people would rather use these devices than to have a face to face conversation. The addictions of technological devices are on the rise. Although these devices were meant to make our lives easier there have been many problems to arise ranging from health risk, relationship problems, classroom, church, and work interferences. Statistics show that cell

Technology has, since the primitive years, always been used to invent tools in order to solve problems. This would, in turn, simplify and make man’s life easier. Through advancements in the field, man has become more efficient on both the macro- and microscopic level. Anything nowadays can be attained with either the flip of a switch or a click of a mouse. One particular technology that came about in this time was the smartphone. Since 2008, the smartphone, a device that combines a normal cell phone with a computer, typically offering Internet access, data storage, e-mail capability, etc. all in your hand was deemed as ground-breaking technology and created one of the largest and most competitive market in terms of

What is the definition of addiction? It is the uncontrolled use of a habit-forming drug or uncontrolled and unhealthy behavior. It results from an illness triggered by brain changes that occur after using some drugs or after engaging in some extremely pleasurable activities (Kowalski). When most people first think of addiction, drugs or alcohol come to mind, a cell phone normally wouldn’t. People do not realize that cell phone addictions are around us daily. Since cell phones are such a norm in today’s society, it is not something that would cross your mind. When is there not a time when you walk into a restaurant or a cafeteria and every teenager or college student is looking down either texting or using social media on their cell phones? The answer, always. Cell phones take hold of us all the time and becoming this addiction that no one can let go of. Cell phones are not necessarily bad, but they are being used too much and it takes away from college students person to person interaction, academics, even affecting their health and much more.