Shaheer Ahmed
If someone asks us today, what mobile phones mean to us? The answer would be LIFE. But did you know that mobile phones are also the cause of your anxiety and not the social media? Yes! An eye-opening discovery stunned us too. Mobile phones and anxiety is indeed a deadly duo. If not your mobile phone, anxiety will definitely kill you.
This is the era of smartphones maybe century. One doesn’t need a research to prove it. From kids to elderly, you’ll find one thing in their hands i.e. a mobile phone. According to a recent research 6/10 people can’t live for more than 24 hours without their mobile phones. Don’t open your eyes wide open, if I am not one of them then you definitely are!
Although, this magic like technology has brought many great changes, almost turned our lives upside down. We can use it to extract information, connect and communicate with people globally, and stay aware and informed. We were already close to our cell phones, COVID brought us even closer and it’s still undecided whether it did good or bad to us.
If we weigh its pros against the cons, the latter takes precedent over the former. Where we used our cell phones for 11-12 hours prior to pandemic, we found ourselves glued to it for 22-23 hours during and post pandemic. The blue light flashing on our faces neither did good to our eyes nor to our mental health.
Evidenced Through Research
Much research has been carried out on this subject. The effects of mobile phones on adolescents has proven to be detrimental. Especially, your mental health suffers because of that flashy, touch screen thingy in your hand.
According to one research conducted by University of Arizona, depression and loneliness are apparent in adults who are addicted to their cell phones.
According to Robin Henderson, PsyD chief executive, Behavioral Health for Providence Oregon: “The increase in screen time during the pandemic, while pretty much mandatory, may be causing stress in adolescents and teens.” He added: “But working to find healthy boundaries with technology is a step in the right direction for developing good mental health at a young age.”
Not only depression, cell phone also cause sleeping problems in teen adults. According to a study conducted by Journal of Child Development in 2017 “smartphones can cause sleep problems in teens, which led to depression, anxiety, and acting out.” As per one source ‘phones cause sleep problems because of the blue light they create. This blue light can suppress melatonin, a hormone that helps control your natural sleep cycle.’
There is a bulk of literature and research to back the stance that YOUR smartphone is responsible for your depression and not YOUR colleagues Hunza’s trip (To Whom It May Concern).
However, there is still time. All is not lost, the path to redemption is waiting for you. We can’t turn back but YOU can.
You cannot fully dissociate yourself from the technology. Neither we recommend you to live your remaining life on hills. But what you can do is, limit your mobile usage. Put a break on it friends. Reading our articles, watching our videos, and following our social media posts daily should be enough to do the magic. But if it is still not enough try to set a time limit after which mobile should become forbidden on you. BUT don’t put it on silent or turn it off, because someone might call you for help.
Recommendation
Following recommendations could help you only if you don’t just read but apply them too.
- Spend half hour on each app. Don’t just use one app for 30 min straight, use it in intervals.
- Avoid working or replying to office emails after office hours.
- Try to savor your meal without your cell phones. OKAY FINE! Food Streaks and updating your Insta and FB friends that ‘you can eat as well’ is a must. But one picture will do.
- To get a sound sleep, try not using your mobile at least 30 min before bed.
- First thing you do in the morning should be opening your eyes and not unlocking your cell phone just to confirm you are not early. Believe us you won’t break any rule if you don’t check your phone immediately after waking up.
These are some golden rules, if you managed to follow at least five of them, believe us you won’t ever feel depressed.
