Don’t Sleep with Your Smartphone!
Avoid Leisure Distress!
Reports show that 64% of adults in the U.S. now own smartphones.(1) Just about everywhere you look in public, people are interacting with their handheld devices, relying on them for a wide array of daily tasks, for they offer a world of information available right at one’s fingertips. From emails, text messages, games, and an endless supply of information, to social connections and entertainment. With so many uses, smartphones are growing to be an essential part of our society- but is it all good? Recent studies suggest that perhaps not all the effects are positive. Could smartphones be causing more harm than good?
A study by the London School of Economics presents evidence that students who carry smartphones in school are at a disadvantage academically. After a study conducted at 91 schools in England, researchers concluded that test scores for the students on national exams went up 6.4% — 14% after a ban was placed on the use of cell phones at school. These less distracted students performed much better- in fact, the positive impact of forcing students to put their phones down is viewed as equivalent to spending an additional five days a year in school.(2)
But students aren’t the only ones who could benefit from more infrequent contact with their cell phones. Studies also show that American adults are becoming increasingly “smartphone dependent.” For example: “67% of cell owners find themselves checking their phone for messages, alerts, or calls — even when they don’t notice their phone ringing or vibrating. 44% of cell owners have slept with their phone next to their bed because they wanted to make sure they didn’t miss any calls, text messages, or other updates during the night. 29% of cell owners describe their cell phone as “something they can’t imagine living without.””(3) How many times have you been in a meeting where attendees obsessively check their phone and ignore the meeting at hand?
This kind of smartphone dependency has led to what researchers at Kent State call “leisure distress.” Studies on both introverted and extroverted adults have revealed that the overuse of smartphones has caused an increased amount of people who have no idea how to spend their free time, especially if they are separated from their phones. More and more people are unable to fill leisure time with meaningful activities which do not involve their handheld devices. Studies suggest that the stress from being constantly connected during the work day spills over into the free time in non-work hours.(4)
What does this mean for our society as a whole? The argument could be made that despite all the modern advantages of smartphones, there are also benefits to educating the public about the perks of putting them down for a significant part of each day. As revealed in the study of students, when the distractions are put at bay, we are able to better perform our daily tasks. The Pew Study and Kent State studies show that the anxiety and stress of being over-connected is causing us to lose our abilities to relax and recharge. Overall, it seems like there could be tremendous benefit to not just owning smartphones, but also learning to live without them.
(1) (http://www.pewinternet.org/fact-sheets/mobile-technology-fact-sheet/)
(2) (http://money.cnn.com/2015/05/18/technology/smartphones-schools-ban/)
(3) (http://www.pewinternet.org/fact-sheets/mobile-technology-fact-sheet/)
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