Nearly two thirds of American adults now own a smartphone – up from 58% in early 2014. In fact, 61% of you reading this page right now are probably doing so on a smartphone.
Their popularity is not surprising! Smartphones are incredible little devices – they allow us to stay connected, organized and entertained. They can track what we eat, our exercise goals and our sleep patterns. They log our shopping lists, our travel details and our spending habits.
These mini computers have eliminated our need for alarm clocks, address books, notepads and cameras.
But do their perks come with a downside?
It would seem they come with several disadvantages. Read on to find out exactly what those are.
1.A Serious Addiction
Despite what some may think, smartphone addiction is a very real phenomenon.
It has been found that female college students spend an average of ten hours a day on their cellphones, surfing the internet and sending 100+ messages. That’s more time than spent with friends.
Another survey found that three out of five US smartphone users can’t go more than 60 minutes without checking their phones.
So what makes us so eager to play with our phones instead of engaging in real life?
Experts say our brains get a hit of dopamine and serotonin – the chemicals linked to happiness – when our phones beep or ring. These are the same chemicals that give drug users their ‘high’!
We aren’t oblivious to our very real problem either – a recent opinion poll shows that 82% of the American public believe that smartphone addiction exists.
In fact, nomophobia (the fear of being without your mobile device) is now recognized as a serious issue – with rehab facilities available to help you deal with your problem!
2.Withdrawal Is Painful
Just like with other addictive substances, withdrawal can be long and painful and come with complications.
A 2011 study called ‘The World Unplugged’ surveyed almost 1,000 University students in 10 different countries.
The students were asked to avoid cellphones, laptops and social networking for 24 hours.
A ‘clear majority’ suffered significant mental and physical distress, panic, confusion and extreme isolation during the withdrawal period, with most students failing to go the full day without their fix.
Back Problems
Are you constantly hunched over your phone, engrossed in your Facebook feed? You could be putting your back under pressure if you are!
The British Chiropractic Association say that the number of young people with back problems has risen dramatically over the last number of years, thanks to smartphone use.
According to 2015 statistics, 45% of young people aged 16 to 24 now suffer from back pain as their spinal disks are put under pressure. That’s a 60% rise from 2014!
This pain isn’t just occasional either, with 25% of those young people suffering on a daily basis.
But it’s small wonder that texting can cause such pain…a 2014 study, published in Surgical Technology International, found that texting can add up to 50 pounds of pressure on a person’s spine, depending on the angle at which the person is texting.
3.Nerve Damage
Smartphones don’t just affect your health on a day-to-day basis – they may also cause long term, incurable side effects.
Like occipital neuralgia – a neurological condition where the nerves that run from the top of the spinal cord up through the scalp become compressed or inflamed.
This condition causes symptoms similar to those you’d experience with a severe headache or migraine.
One journalist diagnosed with the condition described it as like being ‘hit over the head with a rod of steel’ sending ‘bolts of pain’ through his skull.
Unfortunately, there is no cure for occipital neuralgia – only treatments to manage the pain which include steroid and numbing injections, yoga, massage and laying off the smartphone usage!
4.Anxiety & Depression
Spending so much time staring at a screen can lead to anxiety and even depression as people expect constant updates and interaction from friends, and worry when these aren’t received.
For every minute you’re playing Candy Crush, you’re missing out on a minute of exercise, of cooking healthy meals, of walking the dog and of real-life human interaction – all of which are important for good mental health.
A study from Northwestern University revealed that the more time people spend on their phones, the more likely they are to be depressed.
The average daily use for a depressed person was 68 minutes, compared to just 17 minutes for someone who has better mental health.
5.Stress
Having a smartphone means we’re always ‘available’ – to take calls, text messages, instant messages, social media notifications and emails. The workday no longer finishes at 6pm as emails continue to push through late into the night.
But research from 2012 has found that the need to immediately read and respond to every one of these incoming alerts is causing rising stress levels.
The study, which looked at 100 university students, retail workers and public-sector employees, found that the stress gets so bad for some, that they actually begin to experience phantom vibrations, thinking their phone is buzzing when it isn’t!
6.Weight Management & Fitness Levels
Have you ever got lost in the virtual escape your smartphone provides, only to return to reality minutes – or even hours – later?
This is precisely why we’re spending less and less time exercising – once we’ve fit in our daily dose of phone use, there’s no time!
In one study, researchers surveyed over 300 college students about their cellphone use, leisure activities and physical activity.
49 of the students were then asked to use a treadmill test to evaluate their heart and lung fitness.
Unsurprisingly, those who spent up to 14 hours daily on their phones were less fit than participants who only averaged about 1.5 hours of use.
7.Disrupted Sleep
63% of smartphone users age 18 to 29 fall asleep with a cellphone, smartphone or tablet in their bed, says a 2013 survey.
Around 30% of users aged 30 to 64 do the same thing.
What’s really worrying is that, according to a study published in September 2015, the amount of caffeine in a double espresso has less of an effect on sleep schedule than bright light exposure at night!
While most of us wouldn’t bring a double espresso to bed, we happily bring our phones.
The light exposure can actually push back sleep time twice as long as coffee does, thanks to its ability to suppress melatonin, the hormone that helps with sleep timing.
When Harvard researchers looked at the effect of 6.5 hours of exposure to blue light, and to green light, they found that the blue light suppressed melatonin for twice as long as the green did.
The blue also shifted sleep schedules by three hours, compared to an hour and a half for the green light.
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