Phones are popular all around the world, and anyone of any age has one nowadays. One of the main issues of having a phone is the addiction that most teens have. When teens are in school, it seems that they can’t put their phones away. According to a Pew Research Center poll, 95% of teens have access to an iPad or iPhone.

Social media plays a big role in teen culture today. Surveys show that ninety percent of teens ages 13-17 have used social media. Seventy five percent report having at least one active social media profile, and 51% report visiting a social media site at least daily. Almost everywhere you look someone has their phone out and using it. Also, some people are using it for bullying on social media platforms such as Instagram, Snapchat, and TikTok. This is the reason phones will be banned in the 2023-2024 school year. Starting this will make people interact with their friends in person and not on their screens.

Smartphone addiction can result in sleep deprivation, increased stress levels, depression, and anxiety. While being addicted to your digital devices doesn’t negatively impact your health as seriously as other types of addiction, it does indeed impact not only your mental health but your physical well-being.“ I have screen time, but I do use my phone as much as I can”, says 7th grader, Jenna Smith. Set hours during the day when you can engage with your phone for work-related reasons and non-work-related reasons. Some find keeping their phones in another room while they sleep helps them to avoid morning and nighttime scrolling as well on apps such as TikTok and Instagram.

Ways to prevent phone addiction is to set aside your phone for a week, don’t charge your phone next to your bed, and turn on screen time. You can also reduce your notifications on social media, giving you more time to do other things. People who have psychological and emotional issues such as stress, depression, loneliness and social anxiety can easily get addicted to technology. This causes them stressful situations when they are in public with friends due to them being on their screens constantly.

Although having a phone could be addicting, there is so many more choices to do other than using social medias. Having a phone addiction could result in struggling to have face to face conversations and having personal relationships