Cell phones: Physical effects on teenagers

In society so many teenagers use technology especially cell phones to text, look things up, FaceTime or use it for other video chats, and use it to call as well. Teenagers don’t understand how this could effect them for the future. Using cell phones has so many health effects on teenagers such as sleeping, eating and etc. Since back in the days when the cell phone came out it hadn’t been so big till it had been more and more modernized. Cell phones have become so big because their is so much to look at now besides just calling. For instance, if it has GPS, PDA, MPA capabilities. The cell phone has not only changed our world from being 24/7 but also different than history before us (The History of the Mobile Phone). Cell phones have become a part of everyone’s life and even more with teenagers. Many studies have been done on teenagers to show how cell phones effect teenagers physical health.

Teenagers want to be actively involved with societies new technologies like cell phones without knowing the physical consequences. So many factors lead to the physical effects on teenagers. Teenagers want to be involved with everything going on in the world so they are more prone to wanting to be on their phones. In an article called “Excessive Mobile Phone Use Affects Sleep in Teens” a study was done by Gaby Badre who took twenty-one  healthy subjects from ages 14-20 and different tests were done between two groups. Their was a control group and an experimental group in the control group they saw they made fewer calls and texts rather than the experimental group. Young teens who get to use their phones more are more restless, careless lifestyles, disrupted sleep, more stress and fatigue and etc. As stated in the article, “Addiction to cell phone is becoming common. Youngsters feel a group pressure to remain inter-connected and reachable round the clock. Children start to use mobile phones at an early stage of their life. There seem to be a connection between intensive use of cell phones and health compromising behaviour such as smoking, snuffing and use of alcohol” (Badre 1). You can see this with family members lately kids want tablets and cell phones and are constantly on it. More and more teenagers want cell phones to be like everyone else. Teenagers can have these long lasting affects if they don’t start to cut down on using their cell phones.

Serious physical affects teenagers should become aware of but are not really paying attention to it. Their are beyond so many affects technology like cell phones can cause on a teenagers physical body and they aren’t aware of. Their are problems with sleep being disrupted, wrist and fingers suffering, falling grades and etc. The main cause of cramping in fingers is from texting which teenagers do so much of it. In an article, “Here’s What A Constantly Plugged-In Life Is Doing To Kids’ Bodies” it stated, average teen sends 3,417 texts a month, which is about seven an hour” (3). This is beyond excessive and it only keeps getting worse with the newer generation of kids and the more advanced technology is becoming. Teenagers don’t become aware of how often they text it is really bad as was stated in the article Texting May Be Taking a Toll Hafner stated, “They do it late at night when their parents are asleep. They do it in restaurants and while crossing busy streets. They do it in the classroom with their hands behind their back. They do it so much their thumbs hurt” (1). Not being aware of how much you use your phone has begun to be a huge problem with younger teens. The more advance things are getting the more teenagers will begin to get involved.

Teenagers use on cellphones can only get worse with no adult encouragement. Teenagers are constantly connected to the media and much more through their phones. Constant use on their cellphones with no one to tell them otherwise at all times. Kids younger than thirteen shouldn’t have these big phones right away they could start of with something small to use for just calls. Adults getting their children all these new technological devices at a young age is getting them used to the worse already an possible affects as they get older.