The Downsides of Excessive Mobile Phone Usage
Mobile phone use has grown rapidly over the last twenty years in most of the world. In the past, you may have used mobile phones to text and call other people. Nowadays, smartphones provide you with entertainment and a social experience. Smartphones are, in fact, the way most people access their social media profiles today.
Mobile phones are great for communicating with others and are an indispensable tool for most people. However, excessive use can take a toll on your health. Below are a few ways excessive mobile phone use can negatively affect your health.
Excessive mobile phone use can lead to addiction
We often don’t take smartphone addiction very seriously. However, surveys and studies have found that mobile phone use can affect you similarly to how gambling or other addictive activities can.
A Baylor University study on mobile phone use found that female college students spend an average of 10 hours a day on their smartphones. Meanwhile, male college students spend nearly 8. Similarly, a recent survey found that three out of five smartphone users in the U.S. don’t go for longer than an hour without using their phones in some way.
According to experts, smartphone addiction may be caused by your brain’s natural response to hearing your phone ring or beep. Hearing your phone ring or beep because of a new notification or an instant message triggers a neurological response. This neurological response is similar to the one triggered by addictive drugs.
You might feel a strong urge to check your smartphone after hearing it beep or vibrate, even when you’re in the middle of doing something else. This is because of the way your brain reacts to hearing your phone’s notification sound.
Excessive mobile phone use can lead to back problems
Because of the way many smartphone users tend to hunch over when sitting down and using their smartphones or tablets, excessive mobile phone use can lead to serious back problems.
According to the British Chiropractic Association, more and more younger (under 30) people are now experiencing back problems. Experts think that the root of this may be in the way younger people tend to stay seated for long periods of time while hunched over.
A survey has found that most British citizens now spend an average of 1.8 hours a day sitting and using a mobile device, such as a smartphone or tablet. Similarly, they spend 3.7 hours on average using a laptop or desktop computer and 1.4 hours gaming.
When you’re using your smartphone or tablet, you’re likely to hunch over to be able to see the screen better. However, if you stay in this position for long periods of time, you’re putting unnecessary stress on your back.
Whether you’re sitting at your desk or on your couch, taking regular breaks is incredibly important. You must find a way to relieve the tension in your back, according to the British Chiropractic Association. However, smartphone addiction can lead to you losing track of time or simply forgetting.
Excessive mobile phone use can lead to anxiety and depression
The buzz you get from hearing your phone beep or ring can lead to anxiety and even depression in the absence of those things.
A study by Northwestern University found that the more time you spend on your phone, the more likely you are to be depressed. Depressed individuals tended to use their phone more day-to-day than people who didn’t suffer from depression. You’re also likely to spend most of your time at home.
If you’re used to getting lots of notifications, texts, and instant messages, suddenly not having these things can be traumatic. You may suffer from cravings, similarly to drug users who are suddenly unable to use. This increases your risk of developing anxiety and depression exponentially.
Excessive use of mobile phones can lead to vision problems
According to the American Macular Degeneration Foundation, direct exposure to blue light may harm your eyes. This, in turn, can lead to a condition called macular degeneration. This condition results in problems seeing directly in front of you.
Even if the consequences aren’t this severe, excessive mobile phone use can lead to eye strain and headaches. This should be reason enough for you to take regular breaks. This also applies to tablets, laptops and desktop computers.
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