“I’ve been working on trying to decrease the number of hours spent on my phone,” stated Eleanor Lauderdale, a Sophmore. “I probably spend an average of 4 hours a day but I could definitely spend up to 7 hours on the weekends when there’s no school.”
In a small digital device, people can communicate with others, find entertainment, and have a social platform with its various apps. “I spend most of my time on Instagram, I just open it up and start scrolling and scrolling, sometimes losing track of time. I really don’t want to be doing something like this, I know I should be doing something else, something more fun.” When asked if she thought she had an addiction to her cell phone her response was “I wouldn’t say that I have an addiction to my phone but I do think I have an addiction to instagram.”
Instagram is a popular app used for sharing stories and pictures. Snapchat is also another common app that is seen on many teen’s phones. Its purpose is to be used as an instant messaging app for the user to send snaps and videos. “I like to see what people are up to and it’s a good app for that,” said Sophomore, Emily Cespedes “I spend about 8 hours and 17 minutes on my phone a day, I mostly use Snapchat because I like to look at my friend’s stories and talk with them. I think I have a bit of an addiction.”
In today’s day and age, it’s assumed that everyone has access to the internet in their home, being used for school, inside and outside of classrooms. With technology being used every day for students, this can’t be helping students with addictions to their smartphones and the internet.
There are benefits to having cell phones, with apps to help kids stay on top of things, a way to relieve stress, connecting with the world outside of their community, contacting peers and teachers when needing to seek help on an assignment, and many other uses.
“I spend about 7 hours on my phone a day. The apps I spend most on are Imessage and Snapchat because that’s how I communicate with my family and friends,” explained Sophomore, Dalal Moura. “I really don’t think that I have an addiction because, although I do use my phone a lot, that’s only for important business, there are zero games on my phone.”
Still, even when using smartphones for fun or important tasks, it seems that kids have a complex relationship with their phones.