Contributes To Relationship Stress
People are always on their phones to connect to their loved ones who are far away. However, smartphones can have the opposite effect. For instance, when using a phone during family dinner time or on a date with your partner, the phone will take away your attention from your loved ones and hence cause a strain on the relationship.
The Link Between Cell Phone Use Anxiety & Depression
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How To Moderate Teenagers Cell Phone Use
The job of parenting seems to get tougher year on year.
As technology develops at warp speed, its easy to feel helpless or left behind when it comes to the activities your child is carrying out online.
Do not fear. There are some simple steps you can take to help monitor your teens mobile phone usage, and empower yourself, and your family, to use technology in the most positive way.
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Have Smartphones Destroyed A Generation
More comfortable online than out partying, post-Millennials are safer, physically, than adolescents have ever been. But theyre on the brink of a mental-health crisis.
One day last summer, around noon, I called Athena, a 13-year-old who lives in Houston, Texas. She answered her phoneshes had an iPhone since she was 11sounding as if shed just woken up. We chatted about her favorite songs and TV shows, and I asked her what she likes to do with her friends. We go to the mall, she said. Do your parents drop you off?, I asked, recalling my own middle-school days, in the 1980s, when Id enjoy a few parent-free hours shopping with my friends. NoI go with my family, she replied. Well go with my mom and brothers and walk a little behind them. I just have to tell my mom where were going. I have to check in every hour or every 30 minutes.
How Your Cell Phone Could Be Tied To Depression
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Americans are dependent on their iPhones and Androids and for good reason. Not only can you use it to call and text, but you can also play music, take photos, read the news, check the time, order a cab and more. The list never ends . To many, cell phones have become a vital part of daily life, but what you might not know is that they have the potential to be harmful to your health. Excessive smartphone use can cause depression.
A 2018 study published in the U.S. National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health found an alarming correlation between smartphone addiction and depression among a Middle Eastern sample group. Researchers said that reasonable usage of mobile phones is advised particularly among younger adults and less educated users, who could be at higher risk of developing symptoms of depression. Experiments among Lebanese and Austrian university students found similar results.
Another study by researcher Jean Twenge found that teens who spend five or more hours per day on their phones are 71% more likely to become depressed. Those who spent more time playing sports, doing homework and socializing with friends face-to-face showed a lower risk.
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Don’t Ditch Your Phone But Limit Use
For this study, German researchers collected data from April 2019 to November 2020, from participants ages 18 and older. Over 600 individuals were randomly selected and divided into three groups. One group did not use their smartphones at all for one week. A second set of people limited the amount of time they used their smartphones, cutting down usage by one hour daily. The final group continued to use their smartphones without changing their behaviors.
How Can Mobile Phones Affect Mental Health
The jury is out on this particular question as many researchers argue that a causal link between the two factors hasnt been studied. Its not the mobile phone or cell phone itself thats causing depression in young people, but potentially the knock on social effects and impact that time spent using a device can create. Lets take a deeper look at what we mean by that.
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How To Take A Break And Feel Better
Anyone who has spent time on social media knows that it can come with a mixed bag of emotions. For every funny meme, there’s a hurtful comment, and for every uplifting post, there’s a photo of someone portraying a perfect life.
Combine that social media stress with non-stop video conferences and the constant feed of today’s headlines and, before you know it, you’re spiraling into a bad place.
Its pretty impossible to completely abandon phones, social media and screens, Dr. Henderson says. But setting aside technology-free time is something more people of all ages are having to actively pursue to improve their mental health and decrease stress.
If you’re starting to feel like this “always-on” connectivity is putting a strain on your mental health, here are some ways you can take control and feel better.
Filter who you follow
With today’s unsettling and stressful headlines, the last thing your brain needs is more negativity. Try to be more aware of the people and organizations you follow on social media. Find accounts that focus on posting positive content.
Also, consider whether the people you follow are sharing snippets from their real life, or just filtering the good content. It’s hard to remember that for every pristine post-workout shot, there are hundreds of bad angles and bad hair days. If it makes you feel better, avoid following people who filter too much of their “normal” life and only share the glamour shots.
Limit your phone time
Set boundaries
Helping A Child Or Teen With Smartphone Addiction
Any parent whos tried to drag a child or teen away from a smartphone or tablet knows how challenging it can be to separate kids from social media, messaging apps, or online games and videos. Youngsters lack the maturity to curb their smartphone use on their own, but simply confiscating the device can often backfire, creating anxiety and withdrawal symptoms in your child. Instead, there are plenty of other ways to help your child find a healthier balance:
Be a good role model. Children have a strong impulse to imitate, so its important you manage your own smartphone and Internet use. Its no good asking your child to unplug at the dinner table while youre staring at your own phone or tablet. Dont let your own smartphone use distract from parent-child interactions.
Use apps to monitor and limit your childs smartphone use. There are a number of apps available that can limit your childs data usage or restrict texting and web browsing to certain times of the day. Other apps can eliminate messaging capabilities while in motion, so you can prevent your teen using a smartphone while driving.
Create phone-free zones. Restrict the use of smartphones or tablets to a common area of the house where you can keep an eye on your childs activity and limit time online. Ban phones from the dinner table and bedrooms and insist theyre turned off after a certain time at night.
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Faceless Communication And Keyboard Warriors
While modern technology and digital communications have opened up a world of possibilities for all of us, theyve also given rise to less positive behaviours, trends and social interactions. Take trolls for instance. These anonymous social commenters provoke hate, upset and aggression behind the relative safety of their screens. Its this facelessness that allows users to say and do things that they wouldnt typically do IRL.
You may be familiar with the acronym FOMO Fear of Missing Out its a phenomenon that has only been defined in recent years, and seems to be one the key factors thats driving reports of unhappiness, particularly in young girls.
Glamourising our social interactions can contribute to the ostracisation of others and psychologists believe that it is this subtly aggressive behaviour that girls display when bullying others. Watching friends hang out without them is one of the key things that teenage girls are aware of when linking their own mood with their social media use.
Learn About The Possible Side Effects Of Too Much Screen Time And How To Find Digital Balance In Your Life
- A study from the University of Arizona showed teens who were addicted to their smartphones also showed signs of depression.
- Some research has shown that teen phone use negatively affects sleep, which leads to depression and anxiety.
- The National Sleep Foundation recommends avoiding screen time at least 30 minutes before bed.
These days, smartphones are ubiquitous. They seem to be in the hand of every individual, young and old that subtle blue glow is always reflecting off their eyes as they scroll, text and swipe.
This technology, which sometimes seems like magic, has completely changed our lives. It’s easier than ever to find information, purchase items and communicate with people around the world.
Lately, though, it feels like our phones have been even more front-and-center in our lives. Whether it’s another virtual video happy hour, telehealth visits with our doctor or ordering groceries, technology has been a big part of the new coronavirus pandemic.
Sure, this technology has been incredibly helpful over the last few months. But are there adverse effects, too? Read on to learn more about the side effects of too much phone use and how you can take steps to find digital balance in your life.
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Smartphone Use And Stress
Seven of the 31 studies reviewed pertained to stress and met criteria for inclusion in this review . The Perceived Stress Scale was used to assess stress in four of those studies . The PSS is a 14-item self-report questionnaire using a five-point Likert scale that assesses perceived stress in the last month . The Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale , Experiences in Close Relationships-Revised-Korean , and Scale of University Students’ Daily Life Stress , were used in the remaining three studies.
Table 5: Studies evaluating the link between smartphone use and stress . View Table 5
Comparison Is The Thief Of Joy
So says the popular positive mantra. Spending so much time on social media opens a window into the lives of others that we wouldnt usually be privy to. It also allows people to control and curate a particular version of themselves for others to see. It is this comparison factor that many people believe is contributing to negative, and unrealistic expectations of life for young people. Facebooks own research revealed this to be true.
Until a year ago, Frances Haughen was an unknown Facebook employee. Haughen worked behind the scenes as a data strategist. She is now known globally as the whistleblower who lifted the lid on the news that the platform knew that its products, chiefly Instagram, was damaging the health of young girls.
We make body image worse for young girls, and Thirty-two per cent of teen girls said that when they felt bad about their bodies, Instagram made them feel worse, are just two examples of research statements from internal presentations at the company. The company was in full knowledge of their own damning research, yet did nothing to address their own insights that the social media channel was having a negative effect on the self esteem of young women.
Filters, photoshopping, and undisclosed sponsorships and advertisements all contribute to an unrealistic and distorted world view for those who are exposed to them on a regular basis.
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Smartphone Or Internet Addiction Can Also Negatively Impact Your Life By:
Increasing loneliness and depression. While it may seem that losing yourself online will temporarily make feelings such as loneliness, depression, and boredom evaporate into thin air, it can actually make you feel even worse. A 2014 study found a correlation between high social media usage and depression and anxiety. Users, especially teens, tend to compare themselves unfavorably with their peers on social media, promoting feelings of loneliness and depression.
Fueling anxiety. One researcher found that the mere presence of a phone in a work place tends to make people more anxious and perform poorly on given tasks. The heavier a persons phone use, the greater the anxiety they experienced.
Increasing stress. Using a smartphone for work often means work bleeds into your home and personal life. You feel the pressure to always be on, never out of touch from work. This need to continually check and respond to email can contribute to higher stress levels and even burnout.
Exacerbating attention deficit disorders. The constant stream of messages and information from a smartphone can overwhelm the brain and make it impossible to focus attention on any one thing for more than a few minutes without feeling compelled to move on to something else.
Sensation Seeking And Boredom
Turgeman et al. have reported an interaction between high sensation seeking and abstinence whereby abstinence for 1.5 h increased excessive smartphone use ratings in high sensation seeking students. This may be explained by boredom, avoidance of uncomfortable situations and the need for entertainment . Lepp et al. have found an association between excessive smartphone use and living sedentary life or being an active couch potato. Ben-Yehuda et al. have investigated the effects of involvement and of interest in three conditions: state of boredom, passive activity and active activity in counter-balanced order in University students. Excessive smartphone use was not influenced by any interest or involvement in the lecture, indicating a compulsive behavior. Finally, Li et al. have demonstrated that individuals with an external locus of control had less control over their smartphone use and therefore could have more negative effects such as poor sleep quality, lower academic achievements, and lower ratings of well-being.
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Data Sources And Search Strategy
Searches were carried out from January 1st 2011 to October 15th 2017, with no language restriction. This time restriction was specifically chosen to capture studies of current and modern smartphone technology . A search strategy based on the MeSH headings cell phone, behaviour, addictive, and adolescent , was applied to 8 databases, including Scopus, Web of Science, ScienceDirect, PubMed, Medline, CINAHL, PsychInfo, and EMBASE, on October 17th, 2017. Two independent researchers screened the results from the search strategy, and the full texts of all studies that meet these criteria were then further assessed for eligibility. Any disagreements were resolved by discussion with a senior researcher . Additional studies were identified by reviewing the reference sections of relevant papers.
What This Means For You
Excessive cell phone usage can wreak havoc on your mental health. For most people, completely stopping cell phone usage isnt a realistic option. The good news is, however, that according to this study, you dont have to stop. Small changes in your smartphone usage habits can make a big difference in how you feel mentally and emotionally.
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Mobile Phone Exposure Variables
Information about mobile phone exposure was collected from the baseline questionnaire. This included the average number of mobile phone calls made and received, and of SMS messages sent and received, per day, but also more qualitative aspects of mobile phone use, including how often the respondent was awakened at night by the mobile phone, how he or she perceived demands on availability, and whether he or she perceived the accessibility via mobile phones to be stressful, as well as perceptions regarding personal overuse of the mobile phone. Responses were divided into high, medium, and low categories, based on the frequency distribution of responses, except for overuse which was categorized according to number of items confirmed. A combined quantitative mobile phone use variable was constructed by merging the variables frequency of calls and frequency of SMS messages . The mobile phone use variable correlated well with the original and SMS variables .
Mobile phone variables, questionnaire items, response categories, and response classifications are presented in Table Table11.
Using Your Phone To Avoid Negative Emotions
This negative feedback loop of addiction may pose problems for people who already have trouble regulating negative emotions or tend to suppress them they may turn to the phone as a coping mechanism. Initially, this may help as a distraction, but over time, it creates a pattern that has negative impact on mental health.
In a 2015 study, also published in Computers in Human Behavior, that examined 318 graduate students at the University of Illinois, researchers found that people who already experience depression and anxiety often turn to their phones or other âinformation and communication technologiesâ as a tool for avoidance copingâtemporarily distracting themselves from negative feelings. Over a long period of time, this can make a person more vulnerable to mental health problems. But if youâre thinking of how often you check Twitter to make it through a morning commute, donât panic: Using the phone or other technology is only maladaptive over the long run âwhen users are attempting to escape negative feelings, thoughts, or experiences and thereby recruit the ICTs as a kind of therapeutic tool,â they clarify.
While his patients donât typically report that cell phone or technology use makes them depressed or anxious, he does hear a lot that âelectronic media in general really takes them away from more productive work. Itâs certainly one of many escape or avoidance behaviors.â
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