Smartphone addiction is a real cause for concern
DEAR DR. K: My teenage daughter jokingly said she’s “addicted” to her smartphone. I didn’t find her remark funny because there’s too much truth to what she said. Do I have a valid cause for concern?
DEAR READER: A report recently released by Common Sense Media was based on a survey it did on 620 parent-child pairs. It reported that:
› 50 percent of teens feel that they are addicted to their mobile devices;
› 59 percent of parents think their teens are addicted to their mobile devices;
› 66 percent of parents feel that their teens spend too much time on their mobile devices — and 52 percent of the teens agree with them!
This is pretty powerful. Parents and teens agree that their devices have a hold on them. That doesn’t mean that constantly checking Instagram is the same as having a drug addiction. But there is real cause for concern.
Why? Because smartphones compete for our time and attention and constantly distract us. We have only so much time, and can be only partially attentive when we are multitasking. When you pay less attention, there can be consequences.
For teens, it’s hard to build or maintain relationships and to hone social skills when you are on your phone. To the extent that smartphone time with friends starts to substitute for face-toface time, it likely threatens the quality of those friendships.
There’s also a concern that constant smartphone use may adversely affect a teen’s ability to learn. The most obvious basis for concern is simply from the distraction posed by smartphones. It’s hard to lay down new memories and learn new material when you are distracted.
A theoretical concern is that constant multitasking by teens — whose brains are still not fully formed — may adversely affect their ability to focus and think deeply in the future.
Smartphones used under the covers after teens go to bed can cause inadequate sleep time and quality. This, in turn, can have an adverse impact on both mental and physical health.
And obviously, obsessively checking the smartphone at times when full attention must be directed elsewhere — while driving or crossing the street, for example — is a great threat to health.