By Juliette Daly
How can we reduce cell phone addiction in teens?
There are many negative effects of too much screen time, especially for teens. Phone overuse is linked to many mental health issues, such as anxiety, stress, depression, sleep issues, and more. On average, teens spend seven hours and 22 minutes on screens per day, which is almost half of their waking hours. Phone addiction is something many teens and kids struggle with, so how can we solve this problem?
One thing we can do is keep screens out of our bedrooms. This would be useful because people use their phones the most right before bed and then have a hard time getting off their phones, so by removing screens from our bedrooms, we will cut down a lot of our screentime. This will also improve our quality of sleep because we won’t be exposed to the blue light that comes off of screens right before bed, letting us fall asleep faster and get a better quality of sleep.
Another way we can reduce our screen time is by putting away our phones for a few hours a day, until it becomes a normal practice. You can occupy the time without screens by practicing sports, yoga, coloring, journaling, walking, spending time with a family member/friend, and much more. As we slowly become less reliant on our phones, it will be much easier to control ourselves and not overuse our phones.
In conclusion, there are many negative effects of too much cell phone use, but there are also many ways we can remedy this problem. If we start doing these simple practices each day, our screen time will decrease, and our happiness will increase! So, please consider trying to cut down your screen time by applying some of these practices to your everyday life.
(This op-ed is part of an ongoing series of articles provided by IHS health class students)
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