Cell phones started as a way for people to be able to communicate with each other, but over the years cell phones have evolved to do far more damage for the younger generation than it was intended. Phones have become a life source for many teenagers. According to a survey study conducted by the Pew Research Center, 45 percent of teenagers say they are almost constantly on their phones.
Teenagers are constantly on their phones, leaving barely any time to live in the real world.
According to the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, teenagers on average spend up to 9 hours on their phone daily. That means about one-third of a teenager’s day is based on a 24-hour scale, not including the times a teenager would sleep on their phones.
So consequence of such high use of a cell phone it causes a decline in social life and academics for teenagers.
The extreme usage of phones teenagers obtain has been shown to contribute to the stunted growth of teenage education, due to many teenagers having trouble getting off their phones to pay attention to class. According to a study published by Central Michigan University, there is a growing correlation between highly addictive phone use and poor academic performance, for instance, bad grades.
Seeing how cell phones are having such a negative effect on teenagers, I have compiled a short list of what you can do as a teen so that you won’t be completely engulfed by your phone.
- For a certain amount of time a day put your phone the fastest distance that you can and try to spend 2 hours without your phone
- Use certain apps that restrict the amount of time you spend on your phone
- Start to set alarms to tell you how long you can be on your phone
- Change your phone settings
- When you go to sleep try to not have your phone near you
