“Okay, everyone. That feels like a good place to stop at, meet back in 10”. Ah, finally, after the first half of your two-hour lecture, you’ve arrived at the best part of class—the break. Your knee has been bouncing up and down with anticipation since you sat down, just waiting for this moment. You plunge your hand into your pocket, whip out a credit card, and prepare the perfect line of coke from the top of your UofT emblazoned binder.
Yes, okay, maybe checking your phone isn’t exactly like snorting drugs in class, but there is a definite case to be made against constant phone usage. After all, addictive narcotics and screen usage stimulate the release of the same neurotransmitter—dopamine. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter linked to feelings of pleasure and reward, and app designers know exactly how to manipulate the physiological response caused by dopamine. We slowly become reliant on the sporadic incoming of “likes” and comments for that quick hit of dopamine. But since there is no way to know when that 100th “like” is incoming, we check our phones obsessively. It’s a horrifically brilliant ploy—one we fall into nearly every time.
Sitting in my American Literature class at the midway point, I watched as most people pulled out a phone. Even friends engaged in casual conversation were lazily scrolling through Instagram and Facebook (and yes, I was creeping my class enough to notice these things). Sure, my classmates were only on their phones for the short duration of the break, but what about the fact that all those devices were pulled out without a shadow of hesitation? We resort to checking our phones as if it is an obligation. The scary part is, sometimes, I think we forget it’s not. We also forget and/or ignore the consequences of constantly surrounding ourselves with an infinite stream of information. Weakened attention seems inevitable when we grow so accustomed to rapid-fire media consumption. Frequent phone checks have been linked to a shorter attention span and ADHD. A recent study from the University of Alberta determined that by age 5, children who spent two or more hours daily were 7.7 times more likely to develop ADHD than children who spent a maximum of 30 minutes per day looking at a screen. And why can’t we peel our children away from their iPads and computer games? It all comes back to the dopamine response. Screen usage—and specifically social media—can feel like a replacement for human interaction because both provide the same physiological response. This is a dangerous conflation that encourages anyone feeling lonely to seek comfort on their phones, rather than talking to a friend, family member, or counsellor. I’m hoping we are not so addicted to our phones just yet that I have to explain why the latter is a better option than the former.
We voluntarily shoulder a long list of negative repercussions of phone usage all for this addictive rush. From poorer sleep quality to a need for immediate reward, unabated screen consumption has scientifically validated impacts on the human body. A 2015 study published by the Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication even identified physiological signs of phone withdrawal, such as increased heart rate and blood pressure. And for what? What terrible fate will befall us should we refrain from being so dependent on our phones? Ultimately, boredom is the worst possible reality we will face in limiting gadget usage. It’s a shame, really, because there is so much room for creativity when we let our minds wander instead of turning right to a screen. So, let’s break those technology shackles, and let’s get bored!
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