Most of us, if not all, are victims of the trap called cell phones. The world shuts down, and our brains and eyes are glued to the seemingly endless apps within our phones. Addiction creeps in more and more as we use our internet and our phones daily. The more we watch, the more we develop our habits with our phones.  

TikTok, Instagram, Youtube, Twitter, Facebook, Snapchat, and Discord attract teens. Most teens use TikTok, and social media, which takes most of their time, while other apps like youtube have around 2.6 million people using them daily. A person with an addiction to their phone is on it for over 10.5 hours daily. A healthy screen time is less than 2 hours per day.

Phone addiction results in a lack of focus in your everyday life. The amount used spending on the screen daily gives the brain a lack of direction. The obsession with the phone can affect your health and relationships with the people around you. 

According to greatergood.berkeley.edu, “A set of studies showed that just having a phone out and present interferes with your sense of connection to the other person, feelings of closeness…” The moment you have your phone with you for too long, it stops you from connecting with the people around you.  

 When you leave your phone alone for a few minutes, most people start to feel uncomfortable. This feeling tends to limit you from your family as your brain is with the idea of obtaining the pleasure that the phone gives. The addiction not only limits the time spent with others, it also eliminates the time you spend on self-care. 

 Phone addiction can drain you, making you watch a screen and feel lonely and lost with most of the time spent checking your phone.  

According to exploring-topics, “the average American checks their smartphone 352 times daily. While almost two-thirds of teens spend four hours or more per day on their smartphones.” 

Phones can be used for health purposes, such as entertainment, joy, or pleasure. Phones have pros, like their mobility and ability to use for research or plain old fun. However, staring at a screen for more than 10 hours a day is unhealthy. Your phone is an object; you shouldn’t be glued to it. It is okay to own technology; what is not okay is to be owned by it.