8.A Source of Bacteria

Disturbing research from the University of Arizona has discovered that the average phone has 10 times the amount of bacteria that is found on a toilet seat!

While you might clean your toilet regularly, it’s likely your phone is given a good wipe down far less often. And no matter how clean your toilet seat, you’re probably not going to let it touch your face!

Next time, be careful where you leave your phone, and wipe it regularly.

9.Attention Span

It turns out that most of us now have an attention span less than that of a goldfish.

Could our smartphone addiction be at fault?

That’s exactly what research from Microsoft claims. It’s not surprising really, especially when you consider that most of our news is now condensed into 140 characters or less.

On the upside, the researchers claim that cellphones have increased our ability to multitask.

But, others studies contest this, stating that simply talking or texting can be distracting and contributes to diminished performance when multitasking.

In fact, simply the presence of a cell phone is said to be distracting, especially when in social settings.

10.Social Effects

Instead of making us more connected, our smartphones could be making us more isolated.

Not only are we more distracted and less ‘present’ in social scenarios thanks to our cellphones, we’re also becoming less connected to our peers on a deeper level.

Researchers from the University of Essex found that people who discussed personally meaningful topics when a cellphone was nearby (even if they weren’t being used) reported lower relationship quality and less trust in their partner.

They also felt their partner was less empathic to their concerns.

Smartphone use is also likely to make us more selfish, and less likely to engage in ‘prosocial’ behavior, says University of Maryland research.

Prosocial behavior is defined as an action intended to benefit another person or society as a whole – like volunteering or simply helping out someone in need.

11.Text Claw

Text claw isn’t a medical term (yet) but its symptoms are very real. Sufferers experience cramped fingers, wrist pain and muscle pain thanks to continuous texting and scrolling on the touchscreen of a smartphone.

This occurs because of inflammation in the tendons. It can also exacerbate existing inflammation from tendinitis.

If it happens to you, take a break from the cellphone, ice the area regularly, try some wrist exercises and flavor your food with these pain-killing herbs and spices, many of which will work to reduce the inflammation.

11.Indirect Injuries

Aside from the injuries directly caused by your phone – like occipital neuralgia or carpal tunnel syndrome – a cellphone addiction can increase your risk of indirect injuries, like from a nasty fall or car crash!

While hand-held cellphone use while driving is banned in some states, hands-free isn’t.

Yet Carnegie Mellon University researchers found that drivers who are listening to someone talk on their phone have 37% reduced brain activity. They say that making devices hands-free or voice-activated is not sufficient to eliminate distractions while driving.

Even pedestrians are at increased risk of causing accidents.

A University of Washington study reports that texting pedestrians took 1.87 extra seconds to cross an average intersection and were four times more likely to ignore the lights or forget to look for traffic before crossing.

Scary stuff!

12.Eyesight

Direct exposure to blue light – like the one that comes from cellphone screens – can cause damage to the retina of the eye.

The American Macular Degeneration Foundation warns that retinal damage of this nature may lead to macular degeneration, which causes the loss of central vision (the ability to see what’s in front of you).

In the research however, the blue light was placed directly in front of the eye – which isn’t exactly how cellphones are used. However, long term effects of blue light exposure are not known.

One survey of 2,000 people found that 55% of respondents believe that eye discomfort is the main problem inflicted on them by their phones.

To save your eyes, limit the amount of time on your phone and follow the 20-20-20 rule – every 20 minutes take 20 seconds to focus on something 20 feet away. Check out these vision-saving foods too!

13.Hearing

Simply chatting to someone on the phone won’t damage your hearing, but if you use your smartphone and headphones for listening to music then you might have cause for concern.

According to the National Institute on Deafness, around 26 million Americans suffer from noise-induced hearing loss.

One source of such noise is from headphones, like the ones that come with your phone.

If we listen to music that is too loud, we can damage the tiny hairs in the inner ear, which transmit chemical signals through nerves to the brain.

What level is too loud?

The Dangerous Decibels public health campaign states that repeated exposure to noises above 85 decibels can cause hearing loss – approximately the noise level of heavy traffic.

The maximum volume of a smartphone is around 105 decibels – or that of a concert. Listening to music at this volume for more than four minutes would likely result in damage to hearing.

Even if you lower it to just 94 decibels, you can cause damage if you listen for over an hour.

14.Radiation

While it’s not clear if the radiation from cellphones and other connected devices causes health issues, a group of 200 biological and health scientists from around the world are trying to raise public awareness on this issue.

They are calling on the United Nations, World Health Organization and national governments to develop strict regulations concerning cellphones that create electromagnetic fields.

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