Editor’s note: This commentary is by Glenn Fay, of Burlington, who is an educator, consultant and entrepreneur.
[D]uring the last 10 years a devastating affliction has permeated virtually every American’s soul. It is so addictive that children and adults can’t kick it. Kids see it as part of themselves, like an organ, central to their identity. Even many adults get distracted, lose productivity, peace of mind, inhibitions and even do inappropriate things that persist forever. This addiction can induce misfortunes and unhappiness in our lives.
On a recent trip down Shelburne Road I lost count after tallying 20 people looking down as their vehicles whizzed by. I doubt they were checking their shoe laces. And while younger people may be the most attached, I see plenty of boomers glued to their phones too. How did we live without them?
Smartphone technology can be a transformative asset, and no doubt about it, can improve our safety and access to information. But we see some kids wearing phones and earbuds, disengage and isolate from others, at a time when social development is critically important in their lives. And even mature high school kids have trouble avoiding inappropriate use of phones. As one principal, who was a smartphone proponent, said, “It’s like giving kids equal access to cigarettes and candy … teens are not as adept at understanding risk and cause and effect.” Adults need to model and maintain clear parameters around phone use. But the deck is stacked against parents and educators hoping to win the attention of kids over the more attractive world available on their phones. We are finding that the screen world on phones consume enormous chunks of waking time.
An article in the Journal of Addictions shows that in the generation that has never known life without cellphones, college students spend 8-10 hours a day on their phones, spending the majority of their phone time texting and on social media apps such as Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat. The authors termed this behavior cellphone addiction and one of the researchers is studying whether cellphone addiction should be classified in the DSM as an addiction, similar to another social behavior, gambling.
Another investigation, from a “60 Minutes” segment, showed how social media companies use neuroscience to create addictive apps that practice variable ratio reinforcement to hook kids on their products, while using their phones. The apps have addictive elements and affirmations that hook users. Only after residential treatment were the cellphone addicted kids able to see that their phone use was leading to anxiety, depression and social dysfunction and then they resolved to get rid of their phones! But increased anxiety correlated with phones in this story is not a fluke circumstance.
A study published in Computers and Human Behavior shows that high frequency phone use impacts college student health and behavior. In a study of almost 500 students, high frequency cellphone users reported less satisfaction with life, lower grades and more anxiety. As someone who has worked with high school kids for a long time, I can tell you that schools have seen a spike in anxiety and depression issues among teens over the last 10 years. Cellphone use isn’t doing anything to help. What to do about it, if anything can be done, should be an active, data-driven, goal-oriented discussion.
Our Shelburne Road distracted-driving problem may be solved by self-driving cars, eventually, if it isn’t improved by tougher laws and enforcement. And, there is some hope that individual parents, teachers and leaders can make a difference by focusing on personal wellbeing.
Wellbeing is an active, awake, vibrant state of open attention. As Harvard professor Daniel Goleman says, “A major component of wellbeing is equanimity. A form of happiness that is not dependent on external circumstances, on what someone else does or says. It’s an internal state where you’re continuously reminding yourself that you’re okay as you are.”
Goleman insists, “The people on Facebook are not your friends. Your friends are the people you are face to face with.” Perhaps we can learn to be self-aware, monitor our own thinking and click off the phones. Can we use technology as a tool to benefit our purpose, being mindful that we don’t want technology to control us. Goleman and others propose that meditation can increase mindfulness that can help us do this. Others may use different practices to become more aware and take greater control of their own lives.
If smartphones and other emerging technology are ubiquitous for now and forever, then maybe we need a movement to create a recipe for wellbeing and practiced self-control, to be a foundation to live healthier lives, freer from anxiety and depression, with more satisfaction with life, and safer lifestyle habits
