Are our phones more harmful than we think? (Asha Krishna)
Published on 07 November, 2021
The very thing in your pocket may quite possibly be your greatest addiction. Your phone. Breathe, let that sink in. This may be unsettling news, I know, shocking. Every morning, I wake up to a bright light, no not of sun, but of a phone screen. Scrolling, scrolling, a timeline filled with unrealistic beauty standards, posts of friends hanging out solving world hunger, somehow.
An endless cycle, always repeating, every night. “One more hour,” I tell myself. Before I know it, I’m knocked out, phone flat on my face hours later. Sounding familiar?Addicts are everywhere. My friends and family are always Tweeting, Snapchatting, and Facebook-ing, the whole shebang. Dinnertime with my family usually goes a little something like this. Picture my entire family seated at the table, when suddenly, “Get off your phones guys, spend some quality time with the family” my father says, right before looking down at his own phone. Ironic, right? My grandma who I refer to as, “Amooma” would warn me about the dangers of the internet. She would tell me in her hometown Kerala, India many young girls and boys go on apps and put themselves in potentially harmful situations. She would go on to warn me that many cases of young people going missing have been found due to their social media usage. As you can see, cell phone usage is much more severe than we thought—in more ways than one.
Want to hear something even crazier? Currently, the global coronavirus pandemic is keeping billions of people stuck at home under quarantine. Naturally, this is a perfect recipe for sleepless nights and countless hours spent on our devices. Now, screen time graphs in your phone resemble an exhilarating roller coaster––a wild ride for sure. Oftentimes, I find myself waking up from eight hours of sleep only to feel more exhausted than I had before going to bed. I wondered if my excessive screen time was the culprit. I had a sneaking suspicion that there’s some correlation between screen time and the amount of quality sleep one receives.
I had this fiery avidity to uncover all of this. Having said that, I’m no Sherlock Holmes, but I am resourceful and was determined to get to the bottom of this. For one week, I tracked the sleep quality and screen time of teenage participants. Seeing the results, I felt like I was unfolding a harsh reality society stored away on a rather tall shelf, unfortunately for me, I am only 5’2. When conducting the experiment, I found that the higher the screen time, the shorter the slow-wave sleep. Consequently, a lack of deep sleep can actually increase the chance of getting cardiovascular disease or even cancer. Knowing this, I started regarding this topic more seriously. How could I be so blind? I hadn’t noticed how detrimental these devices were to not only my health but those of my friends, family, and quite possibly you too.
I finally took off the “rose-tinted glasses”, but there was still work to be done. First, I set several phone restrictions for myself such as turning off those pesky notifications and putting timers on all my social media apps. Then, I sent the participants their individual data along with some tips on how to cease this seemingly incessant cycle. When I received messages about how they became more aware of their phone usage and how they began to genuinely feel well-rested; as a result, I felt a sense of hope and happiness well up inside me.
Phone-addictions aren’t easy to break, but sometimes overcoming those hardships is one of the most rewarding things you can do. I used to turn a blind eye to this issue, but after having seen the impact of what my research project has uncovered, I’m even more motivated to encourage others to take into account their screen time and how it impacts their day-to-day lives.
I’ve learned that my phone doesn’t and shouldn’t control me. I’m still a spunky, intelligent, and confident girl with or without it.
An endless cycle, always repeating, every night. “One more hour,” I tell myself. Before I know it, I’m knocked out, phone flat on my face hours later. Sounding familiar?Addicts are everywhere. My friends and family are always Tweeting, Snapchatting, and Facebook-ing, the whole shebang. Dinnertime with my family usually goes a little something like this. Picture my entire family seated at the table, when suddenly, “Get off your phones guys, spend some quality time with the family” my father says, right before looking down at his own phone. Ironic, right? My grandma who I refer to as, “Amooma” would warn me about the dangers of the internet. She would tell me in her hometown Kerala, India many young girls and boys go on apps and put themselves in potentially harmful situations. She would go on to warn me that many cases of young people going missing have been found due to their social media usage. As you can see, cell phone usage is much more severe than we thought—in more ways than one.
Then, I watched a revolutionary documentary, “The Social Dilemma” by Jeff Orlowski. Itessentially delves into how we’re all voodoo dolls. You’d think that we’re the ones using ourphones when really, the phones are the ones using us. The aforementioned film highlights the implications of having the world’s information at one’s fingertips.
I had this fiery avidity to uncover all of this. Having said that, I’m no Sherlock Holmes, but I am resourceful and was determined to get to the bottom of this. For one week, I tracked the sleep quality and screen time of teenage participants. Seeing the results, I felt like I was unfolding a harsh reality society stored away on a rather tall shelf, unfortunately for me, I am only 5’2. When conducting the experiment, I found that the higher the screen time, the shorter the slow-wave sleep. Consequently, a lack of deep sleep can actually increase the chance of getting cardiovascular disease or even cancer. Knowing this, I started regarding this topic more seriously. How could I be so blind? I hadn’t noticed how detrimental these devices were to not only my health but those of my friends, family, and quite possibly you too.
I finally took off the “rose-tinted glasses”, but there was still work to be done. First, I set several phone restrictions for myself such as turning off those pesky notifications and putting timers on all my social media apps. Then, I sent the participants their individual data along with some tips on how to cease this seemingly incessant cycle. When I received messages about how they became more aware of their phone usage and how they began to genuinely feel well-rested; as a result, I felt a sense of hope and happiness well up inside me.
Phone-addictions aren’t easy to break, but sometimes overcoming those hardships is one of the most rewarding things you can do. I used to turn a blind eye to this issue, but after having seen the impact of what my research project has uncovered, I’m even more motivated to encourage others to take into account their screen time and how it impacts their day-to-day lives.
I’ve learned that my phone doesn’t and shouldn’t control me. I’m still a spunky, intelligent, and confident girl with or without it.
Facebook Comments
Comments
Samgeev 2021-11-07 18:57:49
A very interesting article. Congratulations.
Leave A Reply
മലയാളത്തില് ടൈപ്പ് ചെയ്യാന് ഇവിടെ ക്ലിക്ക് ചെയ്യുക
അസഭ്യവും നിയമവിരുദ്ധവും അപകീര്ത്തികരവുമായ പരാമര്ശങ്ങള് പാടില്ല. വ്യക്തിപരമായ അധിക്ഷേപങ്ങളും
ഉണ്ടാവരുത്. അവ സൈബര് നിയമപ്രകാരം കുറ്റകരമാണ്. അഭിപ്രായങ്ങള് എഴുതുന്നയാളുടേത് മാത്രമാണ്. ഇ-മലയാളിയുടേതല്ല
EMalayalee Available in MediaAppUSA
Copyright © 2024 emalayalee.com - All Rights Reserved.
Webmastered by MIPL, Web Hosting Calicut Kerala