Smartphones: Balancing Benefits and Risks

The uprising in smartphone usage has been a common subject of debate. Since their emergence, smartphones have taken the world by storm and have allowed people to communicate at an exponentially quicker rate. However, this state of “constant connectedness” (Thomée, 2018) can be overwhelming, and some are skeptical about whether its benefits outweigh its toll on user health and productivity. While many feel that smartphones improve the quality of their lives, others are concerned about the potential health risks linked to smartphone use. It is difficult to say whether smartphones are objectively good or bad, but it is important to identify the possible risk factors while also considering its benefits in order to come to a conclusion. Do smartphones negatively impact a student in their academics? Are social media and smartphones directly responsible for the declining mental health of adolescents? How does this issue overlap with the COVID-19 crisis? 

One place where technology has evidently made its mark is the classroom setting, as smartphones can keep tabs on assignments, syllabi, and club activities. It almost seems dystopian to have everything one needs to know at arms-length, and it’s exciting to have a tool to make everyday tasks simpler. However, heavy smartphone dependence does raise some questions and concerns that should be taken into account. New-age cellphones are not solely academic items and there are various apps dubbed “social media” which includes TikTok, Instagram, and Snapchat. Keeping this in mind, it would not be out of the question to assume that the average college student does not only have school-related apps on their phones. In correspondence with the term “social media,” the sole function of these apps is to engage with others socially. These apps send various notifications that either share that someone has received a like or a follow on their account or that someone else has posted something. The sole purpose of a notification is to call the recipient to open the application, and it's clear to see how this can become distracting. Of 274 college students, 83% reported sending a text message in class while the teacher was teaching (Jesse, 2015). However, are these grounds to assume that smartphones are hindering the retention of information the average student will experience? A 2008 study shows that students who spent more time on electronic devices, such as smartphones, displayed a significant decrease in their self-reported comprehension of the class material (Fried 2008). However, with the worldwide adaptation to these devices, it is highly likely that current students have become accustomed to heavy smartphone use in their daily life. It is to be expected that education would have to adapt to this ever changing digital world. Following the COVID-19 crisis, it has become common to meet via online spaces such as Zoom and Google Meet. Now, it is vastly easier to organize meetings with professors and connect with peers in online spaces. It ultimately falls on the student and teacher to maximize the effectiveness of smartphones in an academic setting. With proper restrictions set in place, such as limiting usage of applications that are entirely unrelated to the course materials, smartphones can be a great way to create a more productive environment for students and teachers alike. 

Although people have innovatively used technology to adapt to the pandemic in 2020, there may still be lasting negative effects from how heavily the world depended on smartphones during that period. Many people are familiar with the term “doom scrolling”, a fairly new concept that was introduced shortly after the COVID crisis. When whispers of the pandemic became widespread, many individuals turned to the internet for constant updates on the dire situation. With the constant exposure to information that was frightening and depressing, it took a mental toll on many people seeking community and comfort; however the inability to stop scrolling through negative stimuli and falling down internet “rabbit holes” linked to these disheartening subjects was what birthed “doom scrolling” (Satici, Tekin, Deniz, & Satici, 2022). Algorithms on various platforms have also picked up on this issue and cater to the users who doom scroll, showing them even more news that is disheartening, anxiety-provoking, and generally negative. There are even certain pages on TikTok dedicated to posting media that is negative, with commenters finding a community that simultaneously acts as an echo chamber, amongst other people expressing depressive symptoms. The media that is typically being engaged with presents themes that are anxiety provoking and hopeless and can be applied to most aspects of society, especially those that surround politics and pandemics of any kind. This issue goes hand in hand with the concerns brought up against social media usage, including its impacts on consistent users and its addictive effects. However, is it really that bad? 

A correlational study with 467 young adult participants attempted to find out. Underwhelmingly enough, the results of this study did not necessarily prove that social media is bad for one’s mental health. Social media usage was not a sufficient indicator of worsening mental health conditions. Many studies in the past have been consistent in stating that it depends much more on how one uses the apps rather than the app itself being inherently negative. The researchers note that “why the popular press, suicide advocates and policy makers continue to hone in on time spent online as a cause of mental health problems is an interesting question, particularly given lack of clear evidence for this relationship,” (Berryman, Ferguson, & Nagy, 2017). However, another study finds that individuals with an addiction to social media apps find it hard to refrain from engaging with “the compulsive nature of doom scrolling” in that their addiction enables them to use various internet spaces in a problematic way (Satici, Tekin, Deniz, & Satici, 2022). While the way in which an individual uses their smartphones seems to be the true culprit once again, it does raise concerns on a social level.

So, are smartphones good or bad? The unsatisfying answer to the question is: It is up to the user. While it is horrifically simple to fall into social media addiction, doom scrolling cycles, and succumb to distractions, it is not inherently the fault of the smartphone. However, there are apparent risks that are present to smartphone users. It is important to ask questions like: How much time am I spending on my smartphone and what are the reasons behind that usage? What kind of stimuli am I interacting with in online spaces? Am I too distracted by social media? Upon self reflection, one is able to pin-point whether they are becoming too reliant on their smartphone and help themself to break out of harmful cycles or avoid them altogether. 

References

Anshari, M., Alumnawar, M. N., Shahrill, M., Kuncoro Wicaksono, D., & Huda, M. (2017, January 19). Smartphones usage in the classrooms: Learning aid or interference? Retrieved from https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s10639-017-9572-7.pdf

Humphreys, L. (2005). Cellphones in public: social interactions in a wireless era. New Media & Society, 7(6), 810–833. https://doi.org/10.1177/1461444805058164

Jesse, G. (2015). Smartphone and App Usage Among College Students: Using Smartphones Effectively for Social and Educational Needs. Retrieved from https://proc.iscap.info/2015/pdf/3424.pdf

Satici, S. A., Gocet Tekin, E., Deniz, M. E., & Satici, B. (2022). Doom Scrolling Scale: its Association with Personality Traits, Psychological Distress, Social Media Use, and Wellbeing. Applied Research in Quality of Life, 18(2). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11482-022-10110-7

Thomée, S. (2018). Mobile Phone Use and Mental Health. A Review of the Research That Takes a Psychological Perspective on Exposure. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 15(12), 2692. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph15122692