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Simon Nolen
English 101
Mr. Yngsdal
10 November 2021
How can people reduce their dependence on their cell phone?
While most of the students that attend college have a cell phone, they should not always
rely on it for all their needs because it is not always available for them to use to fix their
problems. Most people cannot even leave their phones alone for 5 minutes. Having an addiction
to it is an issue that needs to be fixed. Technology should be something that we use when it can
benefit us, but not something that we rely on for everything. People need to be taught the
difference between what is healthy and what is not when using technology.
Cell phones, more than anything, are the cause of many people’s distractions daily. “It is
estimated that more than 3.2 billion people worldwide use smartphones” (Cole). While having a
phone is suitable for looking up information and communicating with others, it can also harm
individuals prone to procrastinating already. People with an addiction to their devices slowly
start to put that over everything else, even essential things like eating and working, and the habit
becomes so bad that it’s the only thing they care about. Cell phone addictions can quickly
impact an individual’s ability to complete their work and take care of even their most basic
needs.
People do not even realize how bad their addiction is until their phone dies or they leave it
somewhere, and they freak out. People have grown so used to always having their cellphone
available to them that whenever it is unavailable, they struggle to function. It is so normalized in
my generation that people do not even know that they are spending half if not more of their day
on their phones. This means that there are people that are being hurt mentally and physically
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during this addiction process without even recognizing that they are struggling with balancing
technology usage with the real world.
Getting a new notification from your phone causes your brain to react the same as if you
were taking a heavy drug; it releases dopamine that makes you feel all good inside. Both men
and women have terrible addictions to social media platforms such as Instagram, Facebook,
Snapchat, and Twitter. People base their life on what everyone else thinks about them because
of these platforms. Being addicted to social media can cause many mental disorders because of
the way everyone compares themselves to others. “In the non-virtual world, it’s estimated that
people talk about themselves around 30 to 40% of the time; however, social media is all about
showing off one’s life and accomplishments — so people talk about themselves a staggering
80% of the time” (Hilliard). Comparing oneself to others can be highly damaging and cause
individuals to try to fit into unrealistic standards set on social media. From always being on
social media, individuals develop eating disorders because of the unhealthy comparisons that are
made on a daily basis. People that use social media also run into cyberbullying issues causing
bad mental health and self-doubt. Young adults already face so many struggles mentally as they
adjust to adulthood, and cyberbullying can have long-lasting effects on self-confidence and
create mental illnesses. All of this can lead to an increase in bad mental health among college
kids.
Having a cell phone addiction can also cause stress on essential relationships that people
have. There is an actual term that is used to address this addiction, and it is called Phubbing.
Whether it’s a parent, spouse, or friend, ignoring their conversation and getting on your phone is
not healthy or beneficial for that relationship. Lori Whatley, a licensed marriage and family
therapist working out of Atlanta, says, “Competing with an electronic device are not easy. The
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addictive powers make it impossible at times” (Brown). There have been many studies on this
particular topic, but one that caught my attention the most is a study that talks about how just
having your cell phone out and not using it can cause a decrease in satisfaction and connection
with the person that you are speaking with. “This phenomenon is especially the case during
meaningful conversations—you lose the opportunity for true and authentic connection to another
person, the core tenet of any friendship or relationship” (Roberts et a). Cell phone addictions can
prohibit a person from being able to develop and maintain solid and meaningful connections that
are so important as a college kid figuring out adulthood. Being addicted to a phone can damage
more than just a person’s relationship with a spouse or friend, as a Christian phubbing can pull
you further from God’s word. Distractions on the phone can cause someone to focus on
something that they shouldn’t and give in to the devil’s temptations. As college kids spend hours
every day on social media, it can lead to feelings of jealousy and lust. It can also bring these
individuals to have a more secular focus, worrying about what their peers think of their social
media posts instead of worrying about how they could be living their lives fully for Christ.
Since phubbing causes problems between people that interact together, there needs to be
something to improve cellphone addictions. The first thing that users should practice lowering
the usage of screen time is to set aside specific times for cellphone usage. “Set times each day or
week to look at your smartphone and really focus on it” (Brooks). It is vital that people spend
time away from their devices because they need to focus on things that are currently happening
in their life that they might be missing otherwise due to the overuse of cell phones. Individuals
can also utilize screen time apps to force themselves to limit usage while also allowing them to
see exactly how much time is being spent daily on their cellphone, which would enable people to
hold themselves accountable. If individuals only focus on the virtual world, time will pass them
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by quickly, and they will miss out on opportunities to spend time with loved ones, do well in the
workplace, have a thriving social life, and so much more. Another solution to the cellphone
addiction problem would be to turn off all notifications that are not deemed necessary to the user.
Receiving messages by nature, people want to look at their devices as soon as possible.
“Smartphones game our dopamine, most crucially through the sounds and banners indicating that
someone messaged or mentioned you and you must look right now to satisfy your curiosity”
(Brooks). By turning off unimportant notifications, you will not be as tempted to always reach
for your phone and check the source of those unnecessary alerts. This will also allow individuals
to use their cell phones in healthier, more efficient ways. If only the important notifications are
highlighted on an individual’s device, that will then be their focus. It will help to cut out
unnecessary distractions that then lead to hours of unhealthy cellphone usage. The final solution
to fixing a cell phone addiction is just physically to distance yourself. Make it a habit not to use
your phone in certain places in your house and place of work. Creating areas with limited cell
phone usage will allow people to then focus on what is important, whether it be work, school, or
self-care—plugging your phone up before bed is said to be very effective in lowering the
temptation to use. Creating boundaries with technology can allow individuals to break the cycle
of overusing their technology and help them to improve other aspects of their life that were being
ignored due to cellphone addiction. By enforcing all these regulations, a person should be able to
improve the state of their addiction and lower cell phone usage, which would lead to many
positive benefits in the future.
People need to be taught the difference between what is healthy and what is not when it
comes to using technology. Getting a new notification from your phone causes your brain to
react the same as if you were taking a heavy drug; it releases dopamine that makes you feel all
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good inside causing a bad addiction. This widespread addiction can be fixed by using self-control
and different useful techniques making conversation and relationships better.
Works Cited
Cole, Dr. Shane. “We're All Addicted to Our Phones.” Fort Worth, TX Urgent Care, University
Urgent Care, 26 Nov. 2019, https://universityurgent.care/blog/were-all-addicted-to-our-
phones.
Hilliard, Jena. “Social Media Addiction.” Addiction Center, 3 Nov. 2021,
https:// www.addictioncenter.com/drugs/social-media-addiction/ .
Brown, Jeremy. “Ignoring Your Partner for Your Phone Is Killing Your Relationship.” Fatherly, 2
Sept. 2021, https:// www.fatherly.com/love-money/phubbing-ruining-relationships-phone-
snubbing/.
Roberts, ―Meredith David and James, et al. “What Is Your Phone Doing to Your
Relationships?” Greater Good,
https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/what_is_your_phone_doing_to_your_relation
ships.
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Brooks, Arthur C. “How to Break a Phone Addiction.” The Atlantic, Atlantic Media Company, 7
Oct. 2021, https:// www.theatlantic.com/family/archive/2021/10/digital-addiction-
smartphone/620318/.
