Are Smartphones Harmful to our Health?
Do you ever just want to lay in bed and go on your smartphone?
Everyone has that feeling when they are laying in bed and watching television on their phone and they suddenly remember they have homework to do. They sit there and contemplate whether they want to start their homework or keep playing on their phone. It has been proven that kids are starting to become addicted to their smartphones. When kids develop an addiction to their phone, they start to only communicate through it. Smartphones are harmful to our health by causing chances of cancer, negatively affecting our sleep schedule and abusing our mental health.
Why our mental health is suffering due to smartphones.
Smartphones have become very popular over the last few years. There are currently 2.7 billion smartphone users in our world. The majority of those users have social media apps such as Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Snap chat and many more. These social media apps allow kids to post almost anything they want. Teenagers use social media as a way to express how they feel, whether it is nice or not. Having the opportunity to post anything online, kids do not realize what is right or wrong. Teenagers are constantly going out and posting about it on social media. When seeing the post and not being included teenagers feel left out. Having social media on smartphones, is ruining teenagers' mental health.
Is your sleep schedule being disrupted by your smartphone use?
When using a cellphone at night you are ruining your sleep schedule. Cell phones give off a blue light, which your brain can interpret as the day time ,causing you to stay awake. The blue light ends the increase of melatonin. Melatonin is a hormone that should increase as you go to bed causing you to be sleepy. Also, if you keep your ringer on while your trying to fall asleep, you will hear all the alerts you get at night, causing you to look at your phone. Researchers say ¨when your cell is that close to you, the temptation to check social media sites, work email, and/or the news headlines is often too strong to resist—even if it’s 11:00pm.¨ Research shows that many people use their cell phones as alarm clocks causing them to put their ringer on at night. Having the ringer on your phone turned on at night can cause you to stay up later.
Can using your smartphone cause Cancer?
There are numerous reasons why smartphones can cause certain types of cancer. Cell phone usage has increased rapidly; in 2017 there were more than 400 million cell phone users. Smartphones give off radio frequency radiation which is connected to humans by heat. Researchers have found a connection between cellphones and cancer of the salivary glands. Although there is not a high chance of getting diagnosed with cancer due to cell phones, not going on smartphones as much can reduce the chances. There are studies of an increased risk of glioma which is a type of a brain tumor. ¨ Researchers have carried out several types of epidemiologic studies in humans to investigate the possibility of a relationship between cell phone use and the risk of malignant (cancerous) brain tumors¨ Although studies have not shown that the radio frequency that cell phones give off cause cancer, they have said that the radio frequency is carcinogenic to people, which means it is possible to causing cancer.
There are numerous reasons why smartphones can cause certain types of cancer. Cell phone usage has increased rapidly; in 2017 there were more than 400 million cell phone users. Smartphones give off radio frequency radiation which is connected to humans by heat. Researchers have found a connection between cellphones and cancer of the salivary glands. Although there is not a high chance of getting diagnosed with cancer due to cell phones, not going on smartphones as much can reduce the chances. There are studies of an increased risk of glioma which is a type of a brain tumor. ¨ Researchers have carried out several types of epidemiologic studies in humans to investigate the possibility of a relationship between cell phone use and the risk of malignant (cancerous) brain tumors¨ Although studies have not shown that the radio frequency that cell phones give off cause cancer, they have said that the radio frequency is carcinogenic to people, which means it is possible to causing cancer.
In all, Smartphones are dangerous to our mental and physical health. A major target is teenagers, because their brains are still developing and growing. The amount of teens using smartphones increases, as well as the chances of poor health.
Citations
"Are Smartphones Bad for Teen Mental Health? - Greater Good ...." 18 Jun. 2018, https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/are_smartphones_bad_for_teen_mental_health. Accessed 5 Nov. 2019.
"How Smartphones Affect Your Brain And Body Without You ...." https://www.lifehack.org/363337/how-smartphones-affect-your-brain-and-body-without-you-knowing. Accessed 5 Nov. 2019.
Pictures
"8 Best Samsung Phones of 2019 - New Samsung Galaxy ...." 4 Oct. 2019, https://www.bestproducts.com/tech/electronics/g158/best-samsung-phones-and-smartphones/. Accessed 5 Nov. 2019.
