Q & A: Teenager admits to too many hours spent on cell phone

Teenagers in the United States are addicted to their cellphones and social networking sites. They are spending 9 hours of their day on their phone/online. I have been alarmed by the recent statistics of cellphone usage in teenagers so I decided to go into a high school, that I am familiar with, and talk to a student about their mobile device usage.

I met Lexi Livingston, a sophomore at Auburn Riverside High School in Auburn, Washington. Livingston enjoys traveling and music. She also enjoys being on her phone and hanging out with friends. Because Livingston told me she enjoyed her phone, I felt that it she would be an appropriate person to interview, regarding her phone, to get a glimpse of high schoolers’ technology usage in my city. The interview surrounds her and her friend’s favorite apps, her personal cellphone usage, and Livingston’s parents knowledge on her usage.

Smith: Do you have a smartphone?

Livingston: Yeah, I have the iPhone 11.

Smith: Woah! Didn’t that one just come out? When did you get it?

Livingston: Yeah, it came out a week ago. My dad got it for me a few days after it came out.

Smith: Does your family upgrade their phones often?

Livingston: Yeah, usually every other time a new phone comes out.

Smith: Wow, that is impressive! I haven’t gotten a brand new phone since the iPhone 4!

Livingston proceeded to show me all of the cool camera features, face recognition, and how to open and close apps on the new iPhone; because I still have a phone with a home-button.

Smith: What is your favorite app to use and why?

Livingston: Definitely snapchat. Um, I like it because I can send texts or photos and see when and who opens it. It’s also the app all of my friends use so that’s also why I like it.

Smith: That sounds funny to me because my friends and I send photos and text through iMessage. Do you think the fact that you can see exactly when someone replies makes you and your friends more intrigued to use that app?

Livingston: I guess. I like that I can put filters on photos or draw on them before sending them. But I guess I like when I know if I’m being ignored or not.

Smith: How do you react when you get ignored, if you do get ignored?

Livingston: I usually get upset.

Smith: That is valid, I would be annoyed at that, too. How long do you think you spend on snapchat, or other social medias throughout your day?

Livingston: I am usually on snapchat throughout school, so around 8 hours. Then from the time I get home until I go to sleep. Throughout the day I also go on Instagram and sometimes TikTok at school, usually after school, though.

Smith: Do you think that’s a lot of time spent on social media?

Livingston: Yeah, I spend a lot of time on my phone. I don’t think it’s good, but it distracts me from other things.

I went on asking Livingston what her phone distracted her from, to which she replied with some personal problems she didn’t want shared online. It seemed as though her phone feels like a safe place for her, where she can be in contact with whoever and whenever.

Smith: Do your parents know about the apps you use on your phone and how much you use them throughout the day?

Livingston: They know about snapchat, Instagram, and TikTok because I talk about them, but I don’t think they know what each of them are like. My dad has a snapchat because he thinks the filters are funny. I think my parents think I can’t be on my phone a whole lot at school so they assume when I get home is when I get all of my “screen time” according to my mom.

Smith: That’s really cool that he has snapchat! Both of my parents have snapchat and Instagram, although neither of them fully know how to work them so they don’t use them. Do you think they would be concerned about how much of that “screen time” you get, if they knew you were on your phone at school?

Livingston: Probably. My mom would probably tell me how I am ruining my eyes, or something.

Smith: Do you think they would be concerned about what you are doing on those apps since you spend so much time on them?

Livingston: I think they are already concerned because they know that the internet has bad things. But, they trust me.

Smith: That’s good that they trust you, do you think they should trust you?

Livingston: I would say yes, because I am responsible and know how to take care of myself. I won’t get myself in a bad situation and know what is safe and what isn’t. I have never given them a reason not to trust me.

Smith: It seems that they trust you since they don’t have any rules set in place for your phone time. I’m not asking you to do this, but hypothetically, would you be comfortable showing your parents your snapchat photos, conversations, Instagram photos and comments, and TikTok videos? Do you think they would still trust you after that?

Livingston: Um, probably not. I don’t think they would stop trusting me after seeing my stuff, though.

Smith: Why wouldn’t you want them to see your profiles?

Livingston: I just have private things on there that I wouldn’t want them to know about. It’s not that I am doing anything bad, but they are older and didn’t grow up with social media so they don’t get it.

Smith: That is true, they probably didn’t have anything similar to social media. But they also have your best interest at heart, I hope. Anything that is “private” can become public very easily.

I concluded the interview with Livingston by somewhat lecturing her that anything on social networking can be shared to thousands without her knowing, and fast. I discussed the importance of adults knowing what is going on, on social media, and that spending so much time on her phone takes her away from the moment and memories she could be making.

This interview shows an average sophomore girl who is addicted to her phone because she sees it as a way to escape responsibilities and difficult circumstances happening in her life. It also shows just how uninvolved parents are in the social networking realm, and that their kids are wanting to keep it that way.

For more information about teenagers use on their phones, check out this source!

For facts and information on depression, click here.

For continued information on snapchat, and snapchat usage follow this link!

Parents on social media, help create better habits in teenagers on social media. Read this article to understand how you, a parent, can impact your child’s social networking habits.