Technological advancements exhibit both advantages and disadvantages. Smartphones are a significant form of technology that has been adopted by society in discrete proportions. Smartphones have become something of a necessity to the contemporary society. computers are perhaps considered the most significant technological advancement and this makes smartphones more addictive for most people. These phones allow individuals to conduct most of their activities at their comfort including transacting their businesses, communicating and entertainment. The smartphone addiction which arises from the fact that people are able to accomplish most of their needs via phone is an issue of concern. Smartphone addiction comes with adverse effects on health and daily lives.
The addiction to the use of cell phones precisely smartphones is closely associated with depression. The constant presence of information accessed by the use of these phones create a room for depression as people will tend to more than often check and deliver information on various platforms using the phones. Social media which is a vital component of interaction contemporarily is easily accessed by the use of smartphones. The social media platforms have emerged as a great source of stress and depression. in most instances, a smartphone user will tend to interact with people of various backgrounds and as such get exposed to their lifestyles. When such interactions occur, a person will tend to learn different things from those they see on social media, at times they would tend to be tempted to adopt their lifestyles especially when they interact or have information about their idols and in some instances some social media users are bullied or abused online. These factors and events mostly attributed to smartphones and social media are the chances of depression. Anxiety and mood disorders are another adverse effect of smartphone addiction. It is established that those addicted to their phones find it difficult to stay with them for some time of the day and this may probably irritate them and cause mood changes. This occurs due to the feeling of loneliness when one realizes that without their phones, they can hardly communicate on an instant basis with people they are used to communicating to on the phone. Sleep disorders are another aspect of depression that is induced by the smartphones.
The phone to many is a device to relax especially after long days of hustle. Addicts will always find themselves staying late into the night and just on their smartphones entertaining themselves and talking to people they can interact with. Subsequently, the sleep patterns are affected and at times become irregular. This denies the individual time to have enough sound sleep and thus leading to depression. relationship issues are a significant source of depression and the same can be greatly attributed towards the sue of smartphones. People tend to easily be drawn away from face to face conversations when they are addicted to social media. As such, the relationship between those addicted to smartphones with close friends and family is always compromised. It is easy to find an individual engaging in a conversation with another on the phone through such mechanisms as texts while they are in the middle of a face to face discussion or conversation. This practice in the end fractures or compromises the real relationships and whenever issues arise, people are easily thrown into depression. Addictive use of smartphones gives an opening for depression and as such people should be cautious not to allow themselves be so dependent on using their phones especially in deciding their lifestyles and relationships.
Cell phone addiction often leads to diminished concentration. In most instances, smartphone addicts will always be concentrating on the next notification form their phones and as such much attention will be diverted towards their phones instead of what they are doing. The diminished concentration is the source of various misfortunes. the productivity of an individual is reduced when they are addicted to their smartphone. At work, when a person concentrates on waiting for the next call, ring or notification and apportions the same a given percentage of their concentration, their productivity is reduced. This is basically because they fail to ensure that all the mental attention is directed towards accomplishing their tasks in the most effective and efficient ways. Further, the addiction to smartphones leading to diminished attention in whatever one is doing has been greatly linked with the increased number of accidents both domestically and at the workplace. In most instances, when some is on their phone they fail to take the requisite measures to ensure that they and those around them are safe from accidents that emanate from what they are doing. Pedestrians, drivers and industrial others among others have been faulted for accidents of various kinds basically because they had shifted their attention towards attending to issues on their phones. Diminished concentration amongst students arising from the addictive use of smartphones is closely associated with their poor performance. Even though smartphones have aided many students in their studies, its use for the purposes of academics is always inhibited by the fact that an individual will always fall for the temptation of checking other applications that do not necessarily deal with studying or will always be distracted by notifications during the moments they have chosen to study and this will in tur see them waste time. Subsequently, they will record poor results because of the corrupted time they devoted to their studies courtesy of smartphones.
Smartphone addiction decreases the levels of physical fitness and creativity. In previous contexts, people would always involve themselves in various physical activities as a way of entertainment. Individuals would always prefer to work on their hobbies to pass their leisure time. Individuals would always look forward to catching up with friends and family and engage in entertaining and creative activities as they bonded. The use of smartphones and the association with social media has adversely affected this way of life. Friends and family these days mostly interact on platforms created on social media. People with same interests create groups whereby they have conversations about their common points of interest. The games that were aimed at increasing creativity and physical fitness have diminished in used. Basically, the games have been converted to forms available in smartphones and individuals can even compete without coming together. Practices such as painting, playing of instruments and art in general have been affected by the introduction of such activities in packages that are accessible using smartphones. People therefore prefer to use the applications on their phones to pursue their leisure time interest thereby decreasing the physical fitness and creativity levels that would be achieved were they to practically engage in the same. Various organs such as the eye are affected by the excessive and addictive use of smartphones. Back pains from prolonged positions of sitting or lying while using the smartphones are also associated with the addiction and decreased physical activities.
In a nutshell, the use of cell phones precisely smartphones have like any other form of technology brought with it advancement in human life. However, excessive and addictive use of the same has been detrimental to individuals and the society at large. Depression, diminished concentration, reduced levels of physical fitness and creativity are all attributed to the addictive use of smartphones. It is therefore crucial that people be enlightened on the need to effectively manage their use of smartphones.
Works Cited
Emanuel, Richard, et al. “The truth about smartphone addiction.” College Student Journal 49.2 (2015): 291-299.
Kibona, Lusekelo, and Gervas Mgaya. “Smartphones’ effects on academic performance of higher learning students.” Journal of Multidisciplinary Engineering Science and Technology 2.4 (2015): 777-784.
Salehan, Mohammad, and Arash Negahban. “Social networking on smartphones: When mobile phones become addictive.” Computers in Human Behavior 29.6 (2013): 2632-2639.