Are You Smarter Than a Smartphone?

Trevor Allen

English 105

Essay Revision

April 27, 2018

Are You Smarter Than a Smartphone?

             The ability to communicate with other people has been one of the most defining revolutions of mankind. As technology advanced, so did our capabilities of communication. From the invention of the telegraph, to the telephone, to the mobile phone, and now, the smartphone. The rising popularity of mobile devices with call, text, email, web browsing, and even more features has revolutionized the way we live our lives today. It was not that long ago where if you were meeting your friends on a weekend, or getting picked up from soccer practice, or attending an event, that you had to pre-plan your entire schedule, agreeing on times and places to meet. Today we have access to our friends, family, bosses, teachers, and pretty much whoever through the tap of a finger. On paper, this seems like net positive for humanity. The smartphone lets us be more efficient, learn in new and exciting ways, keep in touch with those who are far away, and more. However, we may be doing more damage to our brains than we think.

            “Addiction is a condition in which a person engages in use of a substance or in a behavior for which the rewarding effects provide a compelling incentive to repeatedly pursue the behavior despite detrimental consequences,” (Addiction). Addiction extends further beyond what most people think. Typically, if asked to imagine an addiction, people think about cocaine addicts partying all night, or heroin junkies lying in a dirty abandoned building. If the term “technology addiction” is brought up, the image of a video game nerd playing Call of Duty and drinking Mountain Dew all day. No one likes to think that the little rectangle in their pocket is taking hold of the way they live their lives, but the reality is that smartphone addiction is prevalent in today's world and is only on the rise.

            If you ask the average person if they are addicted to using their smartphone, they will almost certainly deny that they are dependent on it. When you take a moment to consider a few questions about smartphone usage, a new perspective can be seen.

"The analogy that I use is right before they go to bed, the last thing they do before they pass out is check their phone and the minute they open their eyes, they check their phone," said Greenfield during an interview. "Doesn't that sound like a smoker? This is what we used to hear with smokers is that the last thing they would do before they go to bed is they'd have their last cigarette," (Wallace).

Just because using a smartphone does not commonly bring about physical side effects, people do not often associate it with addictive substances like cigarettes, meanwhile both cause similar tendencies with those addicted (Wallace). A survey done by a Dr. Greenfield in conjunction with AT&T concluded that 61% of people sleep with their phone right next to or under their pillow, and over 50% of people report feeling uncomfortable if they leave their phone behind while going somewhere.

            So what are some ways to tell if you are addicted to your smartphone? There are many signs that you are becoming dependent on your phone. One way is to analyze why you are using your phone at that moment (Wallace). Did you pick it up because you were bored? Because you were lazy, angry, lonely? These are all signs that your brain is looking for reward in your phone rather in your daily life (Lewis). If you have a particularly bad addiction, you may even experience withdrawals from not using your cellphone. Excessive use can cause intolerance, which involves more and more usage of smartphones.

            Social media and other online media is designed to hook people and exploit their tendencies of addiction. Currently, it is popular (and a good business move) for tech companies to engineer their software to reinforce constant checking and usage of it. The idea is to keep people glued to the screen, constantly checking what is going on on their device, and generating the companies the ad revenue they desperately crave (Manjoo). In today's society, it is not wrong to design platforms based on keeping the user addicted, in fact, it is encouraged because that is the best way for these companies to make money.

            But what exactly causes technology to be so addictive? Well, for social media, the idea of the "like" seems to be the driving factor. Top tech developers are now renouncing their use of social media's "like" features. Even one of the women who help developed the feature for Facebook is now advocating against its use. Some people are comparing it to hard drugs or calling them "bright dings of pseudo pleasure". A man called Nir Eyal teaches a course to tech developers on how to create addicting products. He describes how the technology created today is designed to invoke compulsions in people. The idea is to create an impulse to open up social media and just begin scrolling. Psychological tricks are used to create rewards that the human mind begins to crave for. Negative emotions such as boredom,  loneliness, frustration or indecisiveness can cause a slight craving in people's mind that can be rewarded and relieved at the touch of a screen (Lewis).

            Cell phone addiction does not just mean someone who checks their phone a lot, it has real life negative affects on the way the brain operates and can become a serious issue to those who rely on their phones. The university at Texas performed a study designed to test the effect that smartphones have on human cognitive ability. The study revealed that participants whose phones were near them, although they were on silent, performed far worse in the tests than those who did not have a smartphone nearby. Having a phone nearby causes people to constantly think about it, lowering their overall focus in other areas (Manjoo).

            There are efforts that can be taken to help avoid being a victim to cell phone addiction. One method of cutting back on smartphone use is to create a schedule telling you times when you are allowed to check your phone. At first, it might be hard to go even 15 minutes, but with some dedication, you can achieve an hour or more in between checks. After the timer goes off, you check your phone for about a minute, then reset the timer (D'Onfro). Another strategy is to turn off as many notifications on your phone as possible. Notifications can be turned off in the settings of most phones, greatly cutting back on the distractions you see when turning on the device. A common trap people fall into is bringing their smartphones into bed. Having a smartphone near you when you sleep causes you to think about it first thing when you wake up and right before you go to sleep.

            It is also important to be sure that you are not letting your smartphone distract you too much during daily life (D'Onfro).  Distracted driving is one of the leading causes of car accidents in the United States, with the Center for Disease Control saying that cell phone use is partially responsible for the average of nine deaths every day because of it. Huge numbers of people are texting on their phones or even checking social media mid drive. One study found that fifty-nine percent of people between the ages of 18 and 33 reported texting and driving. But it's not just diving that has become more dangerous due to cell phone usage, even crossing the street has become more dangerous. A study in midtown Manhattan found that nearly half of the pedestrians violating the “No Walk” light to cross the street were distracted by their cell  phone, talking on it, looking at it, or wearing earbuds (LaMotte). A study done in 2013 reports an increase of at least 10 times in the amount of pedestrian related injuries involving cell phone distraction .

            Our reliance on cell phones is beginning to show it's impact upon humans as a species. Cell phone usage is reprogramming our brains right in front of our eyes, and not everyone is seeing it yet. It is important to remain weary of your own cellphone use to be sure that it is not negatively impacting your life. No text is worth the price of a life due to a car accident or carelessness. Through moderation of usage and being weary of distracted activities, a healthy relationship between phone and person can be developed and maintained. It is not too late to address smartphone addiction.

Works Cited

“Addiction.” Psychology Today, Sussex Publishers,  www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/addiction.

D'Onfro, Jillian.“These Simple Steps Will Help You Stop Checking Your Phone so Much.” CNBC, CNBC, 10 Jan.2018, www.cnbc.com/2018/01/03/how-to-curb-you-smartphone-addiction-in-2018.html.

LaMotte, Sandee.“Smartphone Addiction Could Be Changing Your Brain.” CNN, Cable News Network, 1 Dec.2017, www.cnn.com/2017/11/30/health/smartphone-addiction-study/index.html.

Lewis, Paul.“'Our Minds Can Be Hijacked': the Tech Insiders Who Fear a Smartphone Dystopia.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 6 Oct.2017, www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/oct/05/smartphone-addiction-silicon-valley-dystopia.

Manjoo, Farhad.“Even the Tech Elite Are Worrying About Tech Addiction.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 9 Feb.2018, www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/02/09/technology/the-addiction-wrought-by-techies.html.

Walace, Kellu.“SHARE THIS Print Email More Sharing 10 Signs You Might Be Addicted to Your Smartphone.” CNN, www.cnn.com/2014/11/25/living/10-signs-smartphone-addiction-digital-life/index.html4.