Samyukta Kulkarni Week 10: Screenagers
Photo by Stephanie Rausser
Every night starts out the same. I finish my homework, get into bed, and start scrolling on my phone, promising myself that I will go to bed in ten minutes. Before I know it, ten minutes turns into thirty, and then an hour, and maybe two. The endless content makes it impossible to put my phone down. With regret and the all too familiar promise that tomorrow night will be different, I finally allow myself to drift off to sleep.
Around 7 billion people worldwide own a smartphone, and a majority of them can attest to how addicting these devices can be. They are designed to keep us engaged and convince us to believe that one more video, post, or story could not hurt. This is not an accident, claims Tristan Harris, who states that businesses profit from advertising and engagement so the more time an individual spends on the app, the more money the company makes. This causes users to get hooked for long periods of time, even at the cost of their sleep. Studies have shown that using a smartphone too much right before bed can negatively impact sleep quality since blue light emitted from the screen interrupts melatonin production.
Social media’s popularity and our daily dependence on this technology may make it seem impossible to overcome this addiction. The first step in overcoming this addiction is to set limits on screen time and design a screen-free bedtime routine Harris advises that using phones consciously is the key to not letting these devices have power over our lives and well-being.
Hi Sam! I love the witty (and accurate) title of this blog. I also end up procrastinating my sleep because of the wealth of content available on my smartphone; there's just so much to see that I don't have the time for. I can't tell if it's worse when I'm genuinely enjoying myself and have to sleep, or when I just feel bored. I noticed in your blog, however, that you do finish your homework before this, so I would like to congratulate you for your productivity. Your mention of studies that show blue light from the phone disturbs melatonin production is disturbing. It feels like we can't win—as busy teenagers, the phone-time at night feels like an easy way to relax, but prevents us from quality rest. Luckily, phones now have night-time settings that turn the blue light more orange. It's almost a win-win situation between the businesses and the teenagers—almost.
ReplyDeleteHello Samyukta! As a “screenager” myself I find your blog extremely relatable. Your blog made me question how much time I spend with my phone. The answer is that it doesn’t even leave my side. I sleep with my phone next to my head and wake up to my phone blaring in the morning. It’s always in my pocket or in my backpack. Even more relatable is your recount of sleepless nights spent mindlessly scrolling instead of resting. I have spent hours laying in bed endlessly on my phone and it would be an understatement to say that I have reaped the consequences. Like you stated, social media apps are built to pull you into a never ending binge session. For example, when I scroll on TikTok my thoughts kind of disappear, like i’m fully ingrained into the video. Likewise, my attention span for anything not instantly interesting had diminished. All that aside, the effects of being a “screenager” go beyond just feeling exhausted. I feel that continuing to give into being addicted to a phone makes an individual’s work ethic weaker and have less drive. I really enjoyed yapping about my thoughts and I enjoyed your insightful blog even more. Hope to read more in the future!
ReplyDeleteHello, Samyukta! Your blog immediately caught my attention with its title, a phrase I often call my friends as a lighthearted jab at their tendencies to stay glued to their phones. I find it fascinating that you connected this dependency to this quarter’s theme of power because I would not have first thought of it like that myself, but: phones hold power over us, sucking us in with their infinite means of keeping us engaged. The feeling of regret you mention that comes with doom scrolling is all too familiar. I believe many, like myself, can attest to the fact that we have fallen victim to the traps of social media and games before. I appreciate the fact that your blog offers an explanation to the phenomenon that is the addiction to the phone while also offering possible solutions to reduce screen time. Social networking platforms and video games are companies at the end of the day, and as such, they have one goal in mind: profit. Profit, in this case, can only be achieved the longer they are able to keep their users occupied with their product; I believe it is important to acknowledge this, and like you suggest, find ways to stay off our devices and be more productive with our time when possible. Thank you for your writing this week, and I look forward to more the following weeks!
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