A few days ago, at a social gathering, my eyes caught up at a boy barely 2 years old holding a giant tab, watching ridiculous YouTube videos, and showing tantrums to his parents while they were attempting to make him eat his meal. I looked away and saw another teen engrossed in playing action games on his mobile and reluctant to greet anyone. This made me realize the extent to which mobile addiction is emerging among humans. At such a tender age, children who are supposed to develop their skills are busy wasting their time on social media apps.
In today’s modern era, the internet has become a much more common thing for people. With the appearance of the internet emerged various kinds of social media platforms Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube are some examples. Wherever you go, you’ll find yourself surrounded by people preoccupied with their mobile phones, posting their activities and liking other people’s posts. Over the past few years, this trend has seen a sudden surge among the youth, whether it is for completing an assignment or for entertainment, it is used for every need.
Although it is not always a bad thing as we saw during this pandemic, we were compelled to use these devices for the sake of our living, whether it was for online classes or grocery needs, everything could be done with one click on it. Adolescents are the most affected age group by this addiction. Furthermore, the online game culture has induced this generation to be engaged on their mobile phones for hours. With new models of cell phones being launched every month and people rushing to buy those, this demonstrates the craziness and obsession over it.
The Consequences of Excess Mobile Usage
Too much time spent on these platforms turns out to be deleterious for the individuals, it hurts both physical and mental health. Worldwide, the average person spends a total of 6 hours on their digital accessories. It weakens the eyesight and drains energy levels. Using a phone while eating also deteriorates health. There is no doubt that time spent on these devices wastes a lot of potential time. This leads to a decreased capacity for doing important work and may lead to unsatisfactory results in the job or academics.
We have often seen people boasting about their life happenings on social media, this often makes some people insecure about their own lives. Many individuals especially teenagers try to copy the life of their idols and feel miserable when they don’t get the desired outcomes. With the increase in the usage of mobile phones, teenagers do not spend time with their families and loved ones. They can go for hours scrolling through Instagram, and Facebook but won’t utilize that time to enjoy some fun activities with their dear ones.
How To Reduce This Addiction?
The biggest diversion while we do our task is the notifications, whether it is the company notifications or messages from our contacts they pop up and we get absorbed in seeing and replying to them. It is better to turn them off for better concentration. Nowadays, many apps have a time limit that you can impose so it helps to moderate the time spent on them and create a balance between work and the internet.
One can pursue hobbies like cooking, gardening, painting, sculpting, photography, etc. These are not only beneficial for skill development but also serve as a welcome diversion from social media. It is crucial to set clear boundaries between smartphones and our daily activities. The usage should be for a considerable amount of time so that they can work for the enhancement of our lives and also not disrupt our life patterns in any way.
