The Cell Phone Addiction

From the point of time where the vast majority of the population lived in ‘hunter-gatherer’ societies to modern day society where we have access to “artificial intelligences that write news stories and advice doctors,' technology has both helped and stunted the growth and development of humans each and every step of the way. Through my observations of the Tech Industry and my personal experiences, I believe that society should spend more time focusing on the consequences in regards to technology. Technology has always greatly influenced youth, especially within the last decade. As the recent generation relies more on smartphones, there has been a multitude our newly discovered consequences. Teen addictions to smartphones have resulted in the development of poor sleeping habits, which can ultimately decrease daily performance. They have become so addicted to their cell phones that they basically rely on them to fall asleep.

In a recent survey, college students from the San Diego state University where I asked how they interact with their phones when they sleep. The results were astonishing, 'Nearly all slept with their phone, putting it under their pillow, on the mattress, or at the very least within arm’s reach of the bed. They checked social media right before they went to sleep, and reached for their phone as soon as they woke up in the morning.' In addition, the majority of the students conveyed that there cell phone addiction causes them to 'sleep less than seven hours most nights'. Students who are sleep deprived are more likely to perform poorly than students who get more than 8 hours of sleep.

A lack of sleep has a strong correlation in depreciative critical and cognitive thinking skills. Furthermore, studies have proven that even ' children who use a media device right before bed are more likely to sleep less than they should, more likely to sleep poorly, and more than twice as likely to be sleepy during the day.' I have noticed that around the point my parents began allowing my to use my phone freely I have notice that I have began create poor sleeping habits. In the beginning I would stayed up on my phone for 30 minutes to an hour but when my cell phone addiction increased, I felt that in order to sleep I would have to stay up to 3 a.m. even on school nights. As social media is linked to sleeping less, my sleep schedule has also been flipped upside down. Before receiving full freedom on my iPhone I would sleep a minimum of 10 hours a day.

After social media was introduced to life, my sleeping hours were nearly cut in half. In addition, article states how those who are sleep deprived are more likely to become less capable when it comes to comprehensive thinking and reasoning. Comprehending, thinking and reasoning are huge aspects of how well a student performs. I have connected that my poor sleeping habits caused me to become less of a comprehensive thinker and reasoner which results in a decline academic performance. With a proper cycle of sleep, humans are able to perform at their best. However, the use of smartphone hinders the youth of a proper sleep and reaching their maximum potential. The introduction of technology to younger generations are responsible for many underlying problems in our society’s future.

According to 'The Atlantic,' the current generations have experienced a staggering decline in intimate activity: 'The decline in dating tracks with a decline in sexual activity.  The drop is the sharpest for ninth-graders, among whom the number of sexually active teens has been cut by almost 40 percent since 1991.' This rising implication in our youth reflects the interior problem of technology distracting youth from the ideal future of raising a family of their own. If the current trends become the new norm for society, we can expect Social Security programs to deteriorate because not enough people will generate the taxes required to secure a stable future for our nation's elderly and unfortunate. Furthermore, technology also robs our youth's independence. In today's world, driving is no longer a necessity to be mobile in our world, 'parents drove me everywhere and never complained, so I always had rides.'

It is true that we must view these changes not as habitual changes, but as generational changes, but in its purest essence, our youth is becoming increasingly dependent on others for tasks they could easily complete by themselves. One of the most necessary parts of growing up, being able to transport yourself, has become revolutionized by technology, especially with the introduction of popularized-apps that allow users to pay for taxis, under the names Uber and Lyft. No longer must you have a license to move yourself from one place to another, but rather, you must own a smartphone capable of running such an application. The comfort and luxuries brought upon us by technology must not allow us to forget the groundwork that all of our fundamentals are built on. In the past decade, technology may have improved the way humans experience life by paving the way for a convenient and simple lifestyle, but it has evidently started to control us.

With technology accessible everywhere, many people have begun to rely on the decisions made by smartphones and other similar devices that in a way, have lost control to their own decision making. Human evolution has always suggested that in order to evolve and become better humans must be put in difficult and challenging situations. If everything was given to us, then there would no be any kind of advancement whatsoever. Although convenience is a huge aspect of our everyday life it is important to take a step back and understand what benefits come from achieving a goal from a process that takes more time and is more challenging. The simplest option may not always be the best solution to a problem. It is important to understand what kind of growth that can be achieved by doing something totally independently.

Just like this famous philosopher once said, “Give a man a fish he eats for a day, but teach him to fish he eats for the rest of his life.” In the article 'The Tyranny of Convenience' the author Tim Wu believes that convience brings both pros and cons to society, but making something too convenient “threatens to erase the sort of struggles and challenges that help give meaning to life.” Life is supposed to be full of struggles: it is these struggles that make a beautiful life. With every struggle, character is slowly being built. This is key for a society to advance from generation to generation. If “task after task becomes easier, the growing expectation of convenience exerts a pressure on everything else to be easy or get left behind.

We are spoiled immediacy and become annoyed by tasks that remain at the old level of effort.” With technology changing the way humans experience life, reality is ultimately distorted. It is a fact that technology is a powerful resource that can provide many benefits to society, but we need to wake up and become more aware consequences of technology. I believe we should focus more on how technology can negatively dictate how we experience life in the near future as a society we should consider what’s best the future; this will ensure the best possible outcome for the next generation. We as the IGen are reasonable to take the initiative to get outside and simplify the way in which experience our life to live to the fullest.

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