The Consequences of Smartphones
By: Giovanni Lopez
Tags: Social Media, Smartphones

By Giovanni Lopez

Smartphone addiction is becoming a real problem

Social media should be regulated because of the amount of dopamine that it produces in our brains. Growing up I feel like we were not prepared with the repercussions of this revolutionary technology. A lot of my classes this semester have been centered around social media and having a better understanding of it. I think it is a really good idea to have an understanding of social media and get a grasp about how it works because essentially people need to understand how the apps try to get you to spend as much time as possible using it. This day in age especially is extremely susceptible to algorithms like Tik Tok using their algorithm to get not only a lot of your information but utilize that information to their benefit and make you stay on the app as long as possible.

With this problem at hand i’ve been noticing it in highschool with myself and i wanted to get a better understanding. I was diagnosed with (ADD) or attention deficit disorder where it allows me to get pretty distracted very easily and I was put on a prescription medicine to help with that and I noticed that a lot of my time was spent on my phone. I felt addicted but I felt as if my disorder was a reason or the reason for it. So I would do so much to keep myself off of my phone as much as possible. I would try to workout, play sports, hangout with friends, anything to keep me distracted from my phone. Even in the middle of typing this blog I felt the need to pick up my phone to see if I received any notifications. Realizing that it was becoming a problem I would talk to my other friends to see if they had similar problems with smartphone addiction and it was apparent that a lot of my peers did. My whole high school, no, my whole generation was infected with this addiction.

The social consensus was that since we’re all addicted, is it really even a problem? Since it has become the norm and everyone has their heads in their phones what can we really do about it. These companies have found a way to manipulate our brains to flinch or react every time that our little phones make a sound. A buzz, a ding, an alarm. It is scary to think about how much we are attached to our phones. I cannot name a time that I have gone twenty-four hours without my phone and this is where that problem lies. I feel it is this group thinking way that has blinded me from taking this problem as seriously as I wanted to. The fact that I saw this problem and said since we were all addicted we’re on the same playing field and it has become the norm. I am learning now that we as a society, not just my generation are suffering the consequences of not realizing how powerful and mind altering these devices are.

“The truth is that every time you get a new phone notification, it gives you a mini “high” that is similar to your brain on cocaine. A hit of dopamine in the brain releases feel-good chemicals into your body, which reinforces the behavior. Eventually, this pattern creates an addiction and makes it difficult to live without feeding the habit.” This was from an article by Dr. Shane Cole from University Urgent Care. This quote is especially alarming because we all know that everyone in America has one of these smartphones so we all collectively created this pattern of addiction for all of us. This pattern of addiction should not be waved away simply because it is not a scary drug or something that we can all deem as extremely dangerous. I believe that if something as simple as this can cause addiction this easily and is tailored to do so then there should be measures and laws in which to prohibit this or combat it. These social media companies are hiring behavioral analysts and people that study the brain to understand how the mind works and how to keep people on their apps for as long as possible.

The classes that I have been taking this semester have all centered around social media in some sort of way. The knowledge that I’ve accumulated about how the algorithms work from a marketing advantage have really piqued my interest. What I want to do with my career is marketing and I had thought what better way to market than by understanding social media since it is becoming the forefront of our society today. These platforms are becoming the major method of advertising to society today. Why? Because the amount of time that we all spend on our phones makes it more likely for us to be tempted or likely to buy something. A simple concept. The point that I am trying to get at is understanding these social media sites from one side and the other was very crucial for me to get the best understanding and view of the outside has allowed me to come to the conclusion that these companies that develop these apps should be morally responsible for developing these addiction and I even believe to go as far as to set up age restrictions. Age restriction on social media because young kids should not be allowed to develop any kind of addictions. “There are entire teams of engineers whose entire job is to use your psychology against you.” Tristan Harris from the Social Dilemma.

A way that I have been trying to combat my addiction personally is to set time restrictions on my phone. It has been harder than I have imagined because this is where I have truly felt the symptoms of addiction. I tried to delete the notorious app Tik Tok but I have literally deleted it and re-downloaded it about three or four times and it always gets me to come back to it. So the way I try to combat it now is to make time limits for myself. I only allow myself to spend one hour a day looking on that specific app and I limit all apps and screen time after twelve oclock at night

https://disturbmenot.co/cell-phone-addiction-statistics/#:~:text=45%25%20of%20teens%20feel%20addicted%20to%20their%20smartphone%20devices.,addiction%20to%20their%20electronic%20devices.

https://universityurgent.care/blog/were-all-addicted-to-our-phones#:~:text=It%20is%20common%20for%20people,phones%20for%20a%20short%20time.&text=A%20hit%20of%20dopamine%20in,live%20without%20feeding%20the%20habit.