The Dark Side of Smartphones…..!!!!

Excessive use of smartphones is contributing to the Mental Health Issues

We are living in a society where time is considered more precious than money and even a slightest inconvenience is considered a setback. People now want to connect others with utmost ease and within seconds, that is after all why smartphones were invented. Smartphones are no doubt the most amazing invention of our time that have not only made our lives easier but have also allowed us to do things so much faster.

it is ironic that something that was invented to make our lives simpler is actually contributing to our stress.

The level of convenience that smartphones have bought in our lives is exceptional, these have enabled us to perform countless activities besides communication. But it is ironic that something that was invented to make our lives simpler is actually contributing to our stress. Everywhere you look you will see people buried in their smartphone, oblivious to the world around them. Smartphones have enabled us to do things fasters but it has also brought a major disgrace as well; it has made people impatient and now even a delay of couple of seconds is unacceptable to them. I have seen numerous people cursing at the stupid little computer for taking too long to open an app, or giving inaccurate direction to some destination. We have become so caught up in the technology that we just cannot handle the level of multitasking our smartphones offer. This multitasking feature of Smartphones has enabled us to take so many responsibilities but instead of increasing the productivity they have become a constant distraction for us.

Many researches have been conducted and all point to the same results that excessive use of cell phone can lead to increased stress levels because of “the need to stay connected 24/7”

Many researches have been conducted and all point to the same results that excessive use of cell phone can lead to increased stress levels because of “the need to stay connected 24/7”. A psychological study has also signaled out that people who use smartphones majorly for work-related communications tend to have difficulty in detaching from their jobs and experience more exhaustion and work-related stress as compared to others. Staying connected through social communication facilitated by smartphones hasn’t improved the quality of relationship rather this dependence has threatened our intrinsic need of belongingness and has caused feelings of loneliness.

The negative side of cell phones is clearly evident to all and yet people are being ignorant about it or probably they understand the repercussions but their need to stay up-to-date with technological trends is greater than their health concerns. Even after stressful day at work or school we hop on to the internet immediately when we get back home, our brain don’t get the chance to de-stress and unwind the day’s activities, so our brains get stuck in stress mode 24/7. Late night use of laptops, tablets and smartphones is also seriously messing up the sleep patterns and habits of users, leaving them not only with sleeping disorders but also with stress and depression.

Several studies have been conducted that suggest that the amount of times technology abusers check their gadgets are just enough to trigger the addiction-oriented parts of our brains. This is just like any other addiction, once you get addicted to it, you just cannot live without it. FOMO aka “Fear Of Missing Out” is another type of mental disorder that is caused by smartphones. The popularity of social media and sharing everything has affected everyone alike, from middle school-ers to working adults. They are under constant pressure to attend every event and share every experience. It’s basically the “is everybody having fun without me?” disease. This is one of the factors leading to compulsive phone-checking behavior. Excessive use of technology has led to the feeling of isolation. People have become distant from physical world although they are connected to each other 24/7. They have also become more uncivil. Being rude to others is wrong itself but in the virtual world it has resulted in internet bullying. All of this leads to insecurity and self-doubt, one constantly compares himself to others and thus suffers from anxiety and depression.

The negative side of cell phones is clearly evident to all and yet people are being ignorant about it or probably they understand the repercussions but their need to stay up-to-date with technological trends is greater than their health concerns.

Stress and anxiety are not the only cognitive problems that stem from frequent use of smartphone and internet, this technology has altered our minds into a new way of absorbing and processing information as calm and focused mind is pushed aside and replaced with a mind that wants to take in and dole out information in short, disjointed, often overlapping bursts. The ability to process everything faster is no doubt better however, what use is this ability and what meaningful contributions will it make if we are not able to concentrate on something for an extended period of time, and don not truly absorb something instead of just storing it in short-term memory.

The ability to process everything faster is no doubt better however, what use is this ability and what meaningful contributions will it make if we are not able to concentrate on something for an extended period of time, and don not truly absorb something instead of just storing it in short-term memory.

Our creativity, imagination and problem solving abilities have been majorly affected, we turn to Google the minute we face a problem just because it will provide the answers faster. Our cognitive development has disrupted due to the excessive smartphone usage and we have become dependent on smartphone and internet, it’s more like we have become slaves of the technology. We may not understand this fully but human mind is very powerful with unlimited potential. But sadly we are wasting its potential by constantly using smartphones and internet and smartphones event for the smallest of tasks.