If you walk through the halls of Kaneland High School, head into the cafeteria or simply go anywhere when students have a minute of downtime, you will notice a trend. Seemingly everyone’s attention is fixed on the small piece of metal and glass they are holding in front of them.
Everybody, even myself at times, is guilty of it. It’s so easy to just pull out your phone for a quick distraction or to take your mind off of what is going on around you. This is such a common occurrence, so why is it a problem?
While phones and social media are not inherently bad, they are often used in a negative way. Like just about anything, using social media on your phone is completely fine in moderation. It’s an extremely convenient and efficient way of communicating with people, seeing what friends are up to or sharing ideas with people you normally wouldn’t interact with in person. Social media, in theory, is a perfect tool. But in practice, problems arise.
For high schoolers, social media can cause many of us to constantly compare ourselves to others. A possible reason for this widespread occurrence could be because current high schoolers have never known a time without cell phones.
“I think most people [spend too much time on their phones]. But [for] high school students and teenagers, this is all they have known,” English teacher Kristen Johnson said. “They’ve grown up with phones in their hands practically. So it’s more than just a habit to break; it’s a lifestyle to break.”
Although social media can be addictive for high school students, people of all ages have too much screen time.
“I do think that high school students spend too much time on their phones, but I don’t think it’s a problem that is isolated to high school students,” English teacher Ruth Lemna said. “I think everyone probably spends way too much time on their phones.”
While some may feel helpless in quitting this addiction, there are many different ways to make distancing yourself from your phone easier.
One of the easiest methods that most phones offer is the ability to set screen time limits on certain apps or on general usage. Apple has many options for setting limits on screen time. Some social media apps, like Instagram, also offer timers to restrict the amount of time you can spend on the app. There are third-party apps that offer this feature as well.
Putting your phone away and out of reach, when possible, is also highly effective. Your phone is so convenient to pull out whenever you need instant entertainment, but when your phone is in a different room, it forces you to think twice before picking it up.
Lemna suggests that finding out why you use social media so much can help address the problem. “[You should ask yourself], ‘Why am I having the need to scroll on social media? Am I just bored?’”
Lemna also explained there are many alternatives for your need for entertainment.
“You can do other things that are more productive and get that same dopamine rush that you would get with social media,” Lemna said. She added that there are other ways to use your phone if your reason for using social media is to communicate.
“Another great [alternative to social media] that is still on your phone is texting a friend instead of going on social media,” Lemna said. “That way you still get that connection you’re looking for, but it’s with someone you actually have a closer relationship with.”
Muting certain app notifications, particularly social media, can help you pick up your phone less. Oftentimes, these notifications are not urgent and tend to distract you. Apple offers different focus settings on the iPhone that allow users to enter different modes, like do not disturb, sleep and work. Each of these modes help users avoid distractions and limit their overall phone use.
A very popular method to reduce screen time is turning on grayscale on your phone. This essentially eliminates all the color on your phone screen, so your entire screen is just in black and white. This makes your phone much less interesting to look at, and it will deter you from staying on it for long periods of time. The American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education conducted a study in 2022 on the effects of grayscale on screen time, and the results were positive.
“A major finding of this study was that changing their phone to a default grayscale setting reduced the visual attraction to their phones,” according to the study. “Social media apps such as Instagram and Facebook are appealing in part because of the visual images. Reducing that visual appeal was theorized to reduce usage.”
In the same study, they concluded, “In many cases, less time on smartphones meant better sleep, more productivity, more time for social/leisure activities, improved face-to-face interaction, and/or improvement in well-being.”
If you spend too much time on your phone, the root of the problem may be that you’re avoiding something you should be doing, or you just don’t have enough to do with your time. Trading screens for other hobbies is very beneficial. Some easy examples include learning an instrument, cooking, reading more, spending more time outside, going to the gym, journaling and so many more personalized hobbies that fit your interests and future aspirations. While it can be daunting to give up something you have known for so long and become so comfortable with, if you notice it negatively impacting your life, there are many simple steps you can take right now to get your time back.
