Smartphones are, undoubtedly, essential in our daily lives. We check them when we are working, we text while eating, we let the time pass in the bathroom by scrolling on social media, and we also check if we have received any notifications while being deeply asleep. No one can go around without their smartphones safely tucked in their pockets. They are our secret keepers, our tool of communicating with everyone regardless of the distance, our alarms, and our important documents savers. So, how can we not be that obsessed with them? We can’t deny the fact that they had made our lives much easier, but we can’t also overlook the fact that they impacted us negatively in so many ways. The foremost downside of those little devices is their addictive nature; for some reason, they get glued to our hands most of the time. Unfortunately, this is not the only downside. Check out the following nine different ways your smartphone is making your life inferior.
1 Smartphones Impact the Quality of Our Sleep
Technology, in general, can contribute to the development of sleep issues. Not to mention how our addiction to smartphones makes the matter even worse, especially that we use them almost all day long. A lot of studies have proven that smartphones emit a blue light that keeps our brains alert. Thus, we find it harder to fall asleep after being scrolling those little screens for a while. Besides, the content presented on social media is quite distractive, regardless of being entertaining or not. We check our news feed over and over until there is nothing left to see. Besides, we can easily have access to our favorite shows and movies, so we don’t mind lying in our beds all night watching.
2 We Document Moments Rather Than Feel Them
This is the worst part about being addicted to our smartphones. We become so much immersed in our virtual world ignoring our reality. Constantly checking the stories and snaps of other people helps in developing that urge to impress others as much as we feel impressed by their profiles. The lives presented on social media are only a reflection of what people want you to see and not that of their real lives. How many times have you seen people at a concert recording video and uploading them to their online pages rather than enjoying the music? Even the summer pictures are not as they used to be; people don’t enjoy the sandy beaches or the water anymore. They are more concerned with being on fleek and show off to people rather than actually enjoying the summer. We need to give ourselves a break and actually feel things and notice their beauty.
3 Car Accidents are on the Rise
Don’t tell us that you haven’t already recognized the relationship between accidents and smartphones. People ignore the deadly possibilities of getting into a car crash and only focus on replying to that goddamn text. One thing that using a smartphone while being behind the wheel is causing unnecessary traffic jam just because the driver got too much involved in tweeting or reading a trending post on Facebook. However, the worst part is that being distracted by the phone and not watching the road can get you into a huge unfavorable accident. On the other hand, you may stay safe inside your car, but take the lives of innocent pedestrians who couldn’t pass before you run over them. People need to ask themselves; is that photo or text you’re urgently replying to more important than others’ lives and your own?
4 Texting Doesn’t Necessarily Mean Communicating
Thanks to WhatsApp, Facebook, and other messengers, we get to text the people we love every second of the day. However, things aren’t that great when we start to get into an argument with the person we are texting. That’s because communication gets lost in the ocean of capitalized words, marks, and emojis. No matter how expressive those emojis we use are, they never describe our real thoughts or emotions which can, consequently, make things escalate faster than we intended them to. So, here is rule number one; never argue with someone over those little screens. You need to communicate by seeing their face and listening to their voice tone to make things clear and resolve your conflicts rather than complicate them even further.
5 A Significant Increase in Unproductivity
In the past, offices didn’t allow phones or internet. However, now, they are both essential in getting many jobs done. But, that is not the case anymore, smartphones contribute to procrastination in places of work. Besides, people are now used to documenting their days at work by expressing how frustrated they are, envying people who have better jobs – in their own opinions, and, as usual, scrolling down on social media, so they never miss anything. Here is why using a phone at the office is ridiculously stupid; most certainly, you are dying to head home to relax and just enjoy doing nothing and while we do this, we keep using our smartphones just to do the same things we have been doing since we woke up. So, get ahead with your career, and your smartphone will be waiting for you at any other time.
6 High Phone Use Means Low Fitness Level
How many times have you promised yourself to hit the gym but then get carried away by your smartphone until you lost your motivation? Too many times, right? We have all been there and to be honest, fitness apps are never that helpful either. So, it is much better to attempt to curb this harmful addiction and put your body into the test instead.
7 Bad Body Posture
We have always blamed work for having a bad posture as we sit for long hours bending over our computers. While this is true, the greatest impact comes from our smartphones and not using the computers. People use smartphones way more than they do laptops or any other technological devices. So, we need to pay attention to the way we use our smartphones and curb those hunching poses for as much as possible.
8 Increase in Physical Diseases
In the past few years, many people have reported having blurred vision, unpleasant migraines, or unexplained fatigue. What could possibly be behind all of that fuss? Yes, you guessed that right, our smartphones are the one to blame. Addiction to those devices contributes to increasing physical health problems rapidly.
9 Anxiety and Stress Levels on the Rise
According to many conducted studies, people feel uncomfortable if their phones’ batteries died, or when they don’t have access to an information right when they needed it. This has triggered stress and anxiety. All the previously mentioned consequences of smartphones addiction can worsen our anxiety even further.
It is unrealistic to claim that cutting smartphone out of our lives is the solution. While that is an amazing way to start leading a healthier life, it is hard to happen with all the temptations around. We need to communicate with others as well; however, we mustn’t forget that keeping our physical and mental health in check is quite necessary.