Something about addiction is how it starts subtly and harmlessly. We could even refuse to accept it when it looks like there's a hint that we're getting into an addiction. Along the line, it then proves to be true. When addiction is talked of, we always think of some popular ones. How about that which looks harmless yet it's a disaster unto us.
I'm talking about the phone addiction. If I were to be in a debate as we did back in school about whether “science and technology have done more harm than good,” then I would have a viable and wonderful point here.
Of course, it doesn't end with the young ones. Adults are also complicit in this. I'll say that the adults look even worse in some cases. Have you ever seen an adult who's constantly glued to their phone? Or not constantly, just for some moments let's say. You would understand why theirs could be the worst. But not denying, this exists majorly among the young ones.
Now, this has mental, social and health effects to some extent. Mental effects in the sense that one becomes committed to their phones that they lose some trace of reality. Except that such a person is doing something worthwhile with that phone; which isn't in many cases, then you can be sure that as alcohol addiction affects a person's reasoning whenever they take it, so it is with the phone. But yes, we don't see or realise that.
One who is addicted to their phone, often for no good cause gets polluted easily by the system of the online world. I've heard people talk about how they spend their time and day hopping from one social media app to another. And I say it has this mental effect because most of the content (especially that TikTok app) does great damage psychologically.
I see social effects as well. People addicted to their phones are little or not involved in good physical social interaction. The understanding of life is only from the lens of the social media they spend hours daily on, so the social life is lost. We're social beings right? So, we need social interactions and relationships.
Then to the health effects. For a person who faces the screen a lot; I can tell how much the rays from the screen do great harm to the eyes. Consider this then for a person who is constantly on the screen for no really good reason. Such a person harms their eyes while gaining little or nothing in return. Even people who do useful things online should take a break because of this.
While I tend to run around these effects, one major point about phone addiction; like other addictions is how it takes a chunk of a person's life, with nothing to give. It makes a waste of such a life and we have ourselves to blame, not the phone. I'll say that I've seen a good number of people who are addicted to their phones. For some people, it's the last thing they drop before going to bed and the first thing they pick after waking up.
What's the remedy to this issue then? I heard of an app from a tech lady which locks your phone according to how you set it, until you go outside and touch and snap real grass before it unlocks. Maybe that could help. I'll say a sensitisation too would help, though the youth today hardly listen. They might even be pressing their phones amidst it. One other thing that could help is curtailing this as a child is growing up. He or she should have limitations on how much they use phones.
We could do what we could till they grow up. I've heard complaints sometimes when I use the phone, since basically things I do are from phone to laptop. But I try to make them understand I wasn't just wallowing away time. There are times I keep my phone away, and enjoy nature, human interaction and the physical world. I think it's necessary.
