Technology advancements have brought profound changes in people\u2019s\nhabits in recent years, particularly regarding the usage of smartphones,\ninstant messaging apps, and social media apps. Research reveals that teenagers\nwho were frequent users of smartphones could be addicted to these devices due\nto low self-esteem issues. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Teens and tweens use their cell phones a lot and, this is putting\ntheir both their physical and psychological health at risk. National surveys reveal\nthat our children today are anxious than ever and the suicide<\/a> and depression<\/a> rates are\nincreasing alarmingly. These issues seemingly increased about the same time\nwhen cellphones became a necessity for most of the teenagers. American teens faced\nquite a drop in their life satisfaction and self-esteem since smartphone\nownership jumped from zero to 73% which led to an increase in time spent\nonline. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Cell phone\nAddiction and Low Self-esteem:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n While talking about a correlation, it is important to understand that\nit doesn\u2019t mean causation. At the same time, one has to pay attention to the\nfact that how rapidly the rates of mood swings, low self-esteem, and\nself-reported anxiety have grown in teenagers since the advent of smartphones\nand access to social media. This technology both connects and isolates a\nperson. <\/p>\n\n\n\n If you think about it, there is definitely something addictive about getting a notification on your cell phone. Seeing that you got a lot of \u201clikes\u201d on your photo certainly makes us feel great telling us how much people like us. A study<\/a> was published in a Journal Emotion by the psychologists from San Diego State University, and the University of Georgia collected data about media and mood from about 1.1 million U.S. teens. The aim behind this study was to find out why the increase of satisfaction and happiness that span over 10 years shifted and kept on dropping for the next four years?<\/p>\n\n\n\n The researchers tried to find an answer by collecting responses from 8th, 10th, and 12th graders about their feelings regarding life and how they utilize their time. The findings of the research revealed that teenagers who were spending most of their time on screens and electronic communication such as social media, texting, games, and Internet were less satisfied with their lives, were less happy and suffered from lower self-esteem. This observation carried on for about two decades. And during that time TV watching declined but that also related to lower psychological well-being.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Teenagers, who spend more time doing activities that did not\ninvolve screens or technology had better psychological well-being. They\nexperienced higher self-esteem, happiness and were more satisfied with their\nlives overall. <\/p>\n\n\n\n By 2012, half of the American population in which 37% were teens\nowned a smartphone. By the year 2016, 77% of Americans had an iPhone or a\nsmartphone which included about 73% of teens. According to a few<\/a> other\nstudies, the more time a child spends on social media and engaged in online\nactivity, the unhappier he will be. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Recently, specialists from the Department of Psychology led a\nstudy among high school and university students which showed that such\nvariables of personality exist, which incline to suffer from smartphone addiction.\nThe findings revealed the existence of four fundamental features of addictive\ncellphone use in teenagers. Among them, the one that ranks on the top is low\nself-esteem followed closely but low level of emotional stability and\nresponsibility. In order to achieve these results, surveys were carried out\nthat included a self-esteem and personality test of 250 students. According to\nexperts, these two characteristics are increasing so people suffering from\nlow-esteem, have a greater inclination to suffer from cell phone addiction. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The researchers say that we are currently in the presence of a new\ncommunication pattern where cell phones have become a necessary accessory in\nsociety including the teenagers. Cell phones let teenagers create a parallel\nreality and fill a void in their life in that phase of their lives when they\nquestion everything and even their existence. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The Responsibility\nof Parents:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n According to parenting professionals, taking technology away from\nthe children is not the ideal solution as it would take them away from the\nenvironment they feel connected to. Plus, they have grown with screens around\nthem so, you cannot possibly take all of it away from them. But, it is suggested\nthat parents should take responsible measures to control the use of screens and\nnetworks their children use. Also, it is essential to keep a track of the\npeople their children are interacting with so that they do not get into any\ntrouble in the future. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Here are a few ideas:<\/p>\n\n\n\n You can do\nwithout certain applications: <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Every day youngsters download various apps<\/a>. You can ask your children to uninstall apps you think your children are spending too much time on. Some apps are not helpful at all and act more like an interruption. They do not help with the daily activities but act as a hindrance. So, see that your child has only those apps that are actually important for study and communicating with friends and family. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Establish\nsome rules for device use: <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n As children grow up, they eventually learn to prioritize things.\nBut as long they are teens and learning to become an adult, it is your\nresponsibility that you establish some rules in your home. Cell phones and the\nconstant notifications are a permanent distraction when preparing for a\ntest\/exam or school work. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Everyone should keep their cell phones away during meal times.\nApart from that see that the device is set aside during study hours and before\nsleep, too. Using cell phones before sleeping messes up the sleep cycle. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Control\nyour children\u2019s habits:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Marketing companies and mobile companies developed some trends that determined that a phone is reviewed 100 times a day on average. Now take some time and evaluate how cell phone addiction<\/a> is affecting your children\u2019s lives and studies. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Teach your kids and make them understand that they cannot be glued\nto their devices every second of the day. They should take breaks and set aside\nsome technology-free time for themselves so they can indulge in some other\nhealthy activities as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n