Juliana Luu, like many others, finds herself surprised by just how much time she lets slip past her while scrolling through apps like Instagram.
“Why am I complaining? I’m not even doing [anything] to break away,” said Luu, a 15-year-old sophomore at Central High School in Philadelphia, recounting the far too familiar feeling of self-loathing after hours of mindless phone use.
This sequence of events is likely familiar to many people: while using their smartphone, the hours pass them by, and once the dopamine rush is over, they’re left feeling guilty. In decades before, this may have happened with TV or gaming consoles, but now, such a distraction can fit in your pocket.
Cell phone addiction, also known as nomophobia, or the fear of being without a mobile device, is defined by Addiction Center as the “obsessive and compulsive use of a mobile phone, despite the usage causing issues like anxiety, decreased attention span, and stress.”
“You’re not being productive,” said Lynn Poliard, 15, a sophomore at Central. “You just sit there and you’re just scrolling, and scrolling, and scrolling, and scrolling.”
The introduction of the Apple iPhone in 2007 brought an entirely new cell phone experience to the world, which has only become more and more digital since then. Watching media, communicating with friends and family, and even having a successful career can now be achieved entirely online.
Members of Generation Z, born between 1997 and 2012, have grown up with the internet. This accessibility has led to a sort of dependency on the internet and its convenience.
The Acel Moore High School Journalism Workshop surveyed 80 students at Central to better understand how cell phones have affected their lives.
The majority of the teens said they spend four to six hours a day on their technology, mainly their cell phones. That’s not far off from the average American phone user, who spends around five to seven hours using their pocket computers.
Popular activities include watching short-form content on TikTok, scrolling on Instagram, talking to friends on FaceTime, playing games, and watching long-form content, such as Netflix movies.
With many hours of screen time comes attachment to those devices. Sixty-five percent of the students said they feel more at ease with their phones on their person.
Central is one of many schools in which teachers demand students’ phones be put away during instruction. These kinds of bans are currently getting pushed to the extreme in places such as Florida, where a statewide ban of children’s phones has hit all public schools.
The attachment between teens and their phones may have been fortified during the COVID-19 crisis when people needed technology to connect with others in isolation. A 2021 survey by Pew Research Center found that 90% of U.S. adults said technology was important or essential to them during the pandemic.
“During COVID, everybody was on their laptop doing Zoom for work, or school, or using their phone when they weren’t paying attention in class,” said Leyona Combs-Mond, 15, a freshman at Central. “So I definitely feel like it’s become a part of our culture.”
Events don’t have to be as dire as a global pandemic, however. Surveyed students said stress from work, school, and home sometimes makes them want to escape into their screens for a little while.
As one surveyed student put it, “I think one of the reasons why teens use their devices too much is to get out of reality and stop thinking about what’s going on in their actual life by distracting themselves intentionally.”
While cell phones may be a source of escape, excessive use carries some risks. According to Lotus Behavioral Health, straining of the eyes, neck pain, weight gain, as well as heightened feelings of depression and anxiety can all be consequences of unchecked phone addictions.
Another study, published by the National Library of Medicine, found children with more screen time get less face-to-face interaction and receive lower grades compared to their less screen-indulged counterparts.
Poliard said she knows the scrolling is mindless. But it’s hard to stop.
“You could scroll past something and you don’t even know what you’re watching,” Poliard said. “When somebody asks, ‘What are you watching?’, you’re like ‘I don’t know, I’m just scrolling.’”
Teens of today have been given the task of handling technology responsibly. Some find self control easy, while some struggle immensely with it.
Those who are struggling are hyperaware of their issues. As one survey respondent put it, plain and simple: “We are addicted.”
