A few years ago, I was in a black cab being driving over Westminster Bridge. It’s a stunning part of London and one I always enjoy looking at. The view never gets old.
To your right is the London Eye and the Royal Festival Hall, and to your left is the Houses of Parliament sitting on the edge of the Thames, and Big Ben towering over it all, depending on which direction you are traveling in.
There’s the hustle and bustle of people, many stopping to take photographs of the world-famous landmarks, as well as those going about their daily lives.
In the evening it’s full of commuters walking over the bridge to Waterloo station, suited and booted and keen to get home. The London Eye is illuminated and the restaurants along the Southbank fill up.
But on that particular day, I missed it all. I missed the views across the water, the constant stream of river cruises, the commuters, the tourists, the cyclists weaving their way in and out of the traffic, and the busy London vibe.
I missed it because I was too busy looking at my phone. I wasn’t paying attention. I didn’t look up.
Smartphone usage
The number of active mobile subscriptions are now estimated to exceed the total world population (Konok, Pogány and Miklósi, 2017).
Their uses extend far beyond the text and telephone features of the original mobile phones, and the very basic game of Snake. They have evolved to become mini computers in our pockets and they are embedded in our lives, a necessity for our daily functioning.
World’s most intrusive electronic device
As Busch and McCarthy (2021) point out, we now use them for social media, instant messaging, email, information seeking, web surfing, playing games, music/video streaming, taking photos/videos, and functional apps such as maps, calendar, clock, and note taking.
Without a doubt, the smartphone has become one of the most widespread and influential technological innovations of recent times. They are the world’s most popular and most intrusive electronic device.
The age of multiple screens
In this age of smartphones, it’s common to find ourselves glued to our screens, scrolling through social media, reading the news, texting or using WhatsApp. The personal addition is TikTok where I have been known to lose large chunks of time.
We regularly have multiple screens. We watch television with our laptop in front of us as we scroll through our phones. Popular programmes have even introduced their own hashtags so you can tweet as you watch and share the conversation online in real time.
For all the benefits smartphones bring to our lives, there are many downsides.
Awareness of our surroundings
While these devices provide convenience and connectivity, they also lead us to miss out on many aspects of our surroundings and experiences.
We can overlook the beauty and details of our environment. Whether it’s a beautiful sunset, an interesting street performance, an impressive piece of street art, or even a potential safety hazard, our constant engagement with screens can make us oblivious to the world around us, as I was that day.
Social Interactions and Relationships
One of the most significant losses is the quality of our social interactions. When we are engrossed in our phones, we miss out on genuine face-to-face conversations and the non-verbal cues that come with them. These interactions are crucial for building and maintaining relationships.
According to Dunn and Dwyer (2018), the mere presence of a mobile phone during a conversation can reduce the quality of social interactions, making people feel less connected and empathetic towards each other
Connections over conversations
Studies show that we often neglect those they are physically interacting with, preferring to indulge themselves in their smartphone and to connect to people online (Turkle, 2012).
This state of state of ‘absent presence’ makes time spent with friends worth less in terms of life satisfaction (Rotondi, Stanca and Tomasuolo, 2017).
Creative and Intellectual Engagement
Our intellectual and creative pursuits can suffer. Time spent passively consuming content on our phones is time not spent reading a book, learning a new skill, or engaging in creative activities like painting, writing, or playing an instrument.
Engaging in these activities not only enriches our lives but also stimulates our brains in ways that passive screen time cannot.
Eye health
According to Moore, Wolffsohn and Sheppard (2024), the prolonged use of digital devices can result in digital eye strain, a condition encompassing visual and ocular symptoms. The prevalence of this condition has increased in since the pandemic with more people working from home, many of whom do not have workstations designed for comfortable use.
A study of published in Ophthalmic and Physiological Optics in 2021 found that 88.9% of optometrists in the UK and Ireland felt digital eye strain was an important concern and something they regularly discussed with patients.
Sleep Disturbances
The blue light from screens can have a profound impact on sleep quality. Exposure to blue light, especially before bedtime, can suppress melatonin production, making it harder to fall asleep and reducing the quality of sleep.
A study published in Healthcare (2021) found that people who used electronic devices before bed had more difficulty falling asleep and experienced poorer sleep quality compared to those who did not.
Mental and Emotional Well-being
Excessive phone use can also impact our mental health. Constant exposure to social media, for example, can lead to feelings of inadequacy and anxiety. The comparison with others’ seemingly perfect lives can diminish our self-esteem and happiness.
A study published in Frontiers of Psychiatry found that excessive smartphone use is associated with difficulties in cognitive-emotion regulation, impulsivity, impaired cognitive function, addiction to social networking, shyness and low self-esteem (Wacks and Weinstein, 2021).
The study also found that excessive smartphone use in young adults is associated with psychiatric, cognitive, emotional, medical and brain changes.
Easily accessible and always connected
Stafford and Hillyer (2012) found that having access to our friends via our smartphones comes with the expectation that we are easily accessible to each other and that we need to respond to messages immediately.
This can cause psychological tension when the need to belong clashes with the need for privacy and personal space, and feelings of entrapment.
Smartphones can also result in us remaining connected to work while away from the office, increasing stress levels, preventing essential down time and impacting negatively on family life.
Personal reflection and mindfulness
Phones can also detract from our ability to engage in personal reflection and mindfulness. Time spent on screens is time not spent thinking, reflecting, or simply being present.
The continued flow of information and communication can also lead to sensory overload, known as cyber-based overload (Misra and Stokols, 2012).
Mindfulness, the practice of being fully engaged in the present moment, is associated with numerous benefits, including reduced stress and improved mental clarity.
Productivity and Focus
Our phones are notorious for their ability to distract us from tasks at hand. Whether it’s work, study, or even a simple hobby, constant notifications and the temptation to check our phones can severely hinder our productivity.
Research has found that the mere presence of our smartphone, even when not in use, can induce “brain drain” by using up our finite pool of attentional resources. Attention given to our phone means there is less available for others task, thereby reducing our productivity levels and ability to focus (Ward et al., 2017).
Road Traffic Accidents
One of the most dangerous consequences of phone distraction is its impact on driving. Using a phone while driving, whether texting or talking, significantly increases the risk of accidents.
According to the road safety charity Brake, found that drivers who talk on phones, both hands-free and hand-held, are four times more likely to be in a crash resulting in injuries.
As well as this, after using your phone, it can take half a minute to regain full attention, during which time driving is impaired.
Texting while driving is particularly hazardous as it combines visual, manual, and cognitive distractions.
Phone Addiction
Smartphone addiction is a growing concern, with many people finding it difficult to detach from their devices. Those who remember the Blackberry will remember the term Crackberry, used to describe its addictive nature. Phones have become even more sophisticated since then.
This addiction can lead to a range of negative outcomes, including increased anxiety, stress, and reduced attention spans.
According to a study in the journal Addictive Behaviours, excessive smartphone use is associated with symptoms of addiction similar to those seen with substance abuse, including withdrawal symptoms and compulsive use.
Life before smartphones
Having grown up in a world without smartphones where you needed to save your ten pence coins for the phone box or use the ‘old-fashioned’ landline phones with the handset and dial, the convenience that smartphones offer is obvious. They have improved and simplified lives.
However, it is useful to be reminded of the downsides of phone usage and be more mindful of our behaviours. The addictive nature of social media, for example, can quickly draw us in. And there is so much we fail to notice when we don’t look up from the screen.
Sources
Brake: Mobile phone use.
Busch, P.A. and McCarthy, S., 2021. Antecedents and consequences of problematic smartphone use: A systematic literature review of an emerging research area. Computers in human behavior, 114, p.106414.
Dunn, E. W. & Dwyer, R. (2018). Technology and the Future of Happiness. In Forgas, J. P. & Baumeister, R. F. (Eds.), The Social Psychology of Living Well. New York: Psychology Press.
Konok, V., Pogány, Á. and Miklósi, Á., 2017. Mobile attachment: Separation from the mobile phone induces physiological and behavioural stress and attentional bias to separation-related stimuli. Computers in Human Behavior, 71, pp.228-239.
Misra, S., & Stokols, D., 2012. Psychological and health outcomes of perceived information overload. Environment and Behavior, 44, 737-759.
Moore, P.A., Wolffsohn, J.S. and Sheppard, A.L., 2021. Attitudes of optometrists in the UK and Ireland to Digital Eye Strain and approaches to assessment and management. Ophthalmic and Physiological Optics, 41(6), pp.1165-1175.
Moore, P.A., Wolffsohn, J.S. and Sheppard, A.L., 2024. Digital eye strain and its impact on working adults in the UK and Ireland. Contact Lens and Anterior Eye, p.102176.
Pham, H.T., Chuang, H.L., Kuo, C.P., Yeh, T.P. and Liao, W.C., 2021, August. Electronic device use before bedtime and sleep quality among university students. In Healthcare (Vol. 9, No. 9, p. 1091). MDPI.
Rotondi, V., Stanca, L. and Tomasuolo, M., 2017. Connecting alone: Smartphone use, quality of social interactions and well-being. Journal of Economic Psychology, 63, pp.17-26.
Stafford, L., & Hillyer, J. D., 2012. Information and communication technologies in personal relationships. Review of Communication, 12, 290–312.
Turkle, S. 2012. “alone together why we expect more from technology and less from each other. pdf.”
Ward, A.F., Duke, K., Gneezy, A. and Bos, M.W., 2017. Brain drain: The mere presence of one’s own smartphone reduces available cognitive capacity. Journal of the association for consumer research, 2(2), pp.140-154.
