Social Informatics Paper

Phone Addiction in Teenagers Name Institution Due Date Phone Addiction in Teenagers Technology has indeed revolutionized the world. However, even with all its advantages, some bits of it still leave a lot to be desired. One such bit is its effects on the teenagers who have been swept by the new wave of smartphone use in the world. Smartphone use in the world continues to soar, and Handley (2019) reports that “around 2 billion people currently access the internet via only their smartphone.” The article also reports that in 2025, nearly “three quarters (72.6 percent) of internet users will access the web solely via smartphones” a number which is equivalent to 3.7 billion people. Smartphone use is indeed not about to slow down. However, this comes at a cost to the entire world, which in this particular case is addiction. Many people around the world are addicted to their phones and spend the better part of their day on their phones. The main victims of phone addiction are teenagers who unlike adults, may not know how to handle some of the pressures that come with using smartphones. In a 2019 article, Heid from time.com notes that smartphones are popular among teenagers all over the world. The sad bit about this statistic is that different studies continue to find links between high technology or smartphone usage among teenagers and poor mental health. Twenge (2018) notes that “in just the five years between 2010 and 2015, the number of U.S. teens who felt useless and joyless – classic symptoms of depression – surged 33 percent in large national surveys.” He continues to note that suicide attempts, on the other hand, increased by a whopping 23 percent. Even more, specifically is the 31 percent increase in teenagers who committed suicide. Interestingly, these numbers have surged with the increase in smartphone usage among teenagers. Arresting this problem before more lives are lost, and others are wasted in hospitals and rehab is indeed imminent. In this article, different theories and perspectives will be used to shed more light on the issue of phone addiction among teenagers with an emphasis as well on how parents, guardians, and teachers could be of help to help protect teenagers from the effects of phone addiction. The effects of phone addiction among teenagers may seem obvious to parents, guardians, and teachers. However, it is crucial that phone addiction is explained further in line with theories and perspectives that seek to enhance the understanding of the subject matter. Self-Presentation Theory In their explanation of self-presentation, Baumeister and Hutton (1987) explain it as “behavior that attempts to convey some information about oneself or some image of oneself to other people.” The two researchers continue to say that self-presentation is in itself a class “of motivations in human behavior…Specifically, self-presentational motivations are activated by the evaluative presence of other people and by others’ (even potential) knowledge of one’s behavior.” From the above, one deduces that these motivations can be categorized into two. The first instance of self-presentational motivations include situations where people try to match or meet other people’s expectations. The second instance involves an attempt to “match one’s self-presentation to one’s ideal self.” It is crucial to note that in the former instance, situational factors play a big role because of the differences in people’s preferences. So, depending on the expectations or preferences of the audience, the motives can change. This particular theory applies quite well among teenagers. Today, there is a lot of emphasis on outward look and acceptance in society. Peer pressure continues to be one of the weightier forces among teenagers and any other age group. The advent of smartphones has made things worse as young men and women are currently obsessed with their looks and acceptance from among their peers. First, there is acceptance and an obsession to stay within the current flow of events or the latest trends. Here is where a majority of the teenagers seem to be losing themselves as well as where instances of cyberbullying seem to be thriving. No one wants to be left behind today. A day without access to the internet means one misses out on a lot of things. So, for the teenagers, this means that one has to find ways to stay online more than 6 hours a day. This idea of wanting to remain within the fold or wanting to be accepted among their peers greatly impacts many teenagers. Stories have been told of teenagers who go to extra lengths to be recognized as fitting within certain social circles. Some have gone to extra lengths to change who they are in an attempt to take after their favorite celebrities. The problem, however, stems from the fact that society continues to embrace these celebrities and paint a picture of them as the standard of success with regards to beauty and success. For teenagers, one is forced to remain connected and stay ‘current.’ Unknowingly to them, issues of anxiety and depression continue to mount as one continues to wield power to a third-party that is consistently setting the bar way too high. In a 1985 study conducted by Baumeister and his colleagues, the results reveal that success becomes an illusion when a person is working with the public’s expectancies of success. However, performance is enhanced when one is referring to their personal or private expectancies of success. The use of smartphones has become an obsession among teenagers since the majority are working with societal norms. Secondly, there is the category where one seeks to match their representation of their ideal self. Well, the idea to match one’s ideal self is one that brings about a level of motivation or encouragement to enhance one’s efforts and performance. However, today, the ideal self, especially for teenagers, is that of a rich life, especially that which is lived by celebrities. It is not bad to envy celebrities, however, when one is obsessed with their image to a point where they attempt to do everything to match them, this presents a problem. All the above, it is crucial to say, stem from the issue of phone addiction. With the internet readily accessible and cheap, teenagers will continue to scavenge the internet in search of ‘themselves.’ However, unknowingly to them, the internet is the wrong place to find oneself. But, since the society has made it a norm, then it becomes a norm to the teenagers as well. What is not spoken often today is the fact that as teenagers use their phones more, their image of themselves continues to change. Today, influencers are all around, and with regards to this particular category of self-representation, it is fair to say that teenagers are slowly but permanently losing themselves to false technological images. In the end, as a result of phone addiction, the society continues to unknowingly breed a crop of teenagers that are lost in their phones and illusions. Technological Determinism Technological determinism is another theory that can be used to explain phone addiction among teenagers. Using the technological determinism model, technology is seen to be leaving its imprint upon humanity. This simply means that technology influencers the behavior of those who adopt it. Well, there is some truth in the above statement as technology continues to change the world, how people interact, eat, work, among other things. In a 2010 study, Baym provided three examples that can help enhance the understanding of how technological development impacts people. He showed how today’s quick cut, as well as editing of film shows, continues to slowly but permanently influence people’s attention spans. Baym continues and offers another example noting that Google continues to make people stupid. To him, these were clear examples of a society being influenced by the technology it adopts. In his study, Colman (2005) introduces the utopian and dystopian perspectives in his explanation of influences of technology. He notes that “technological determinism is molded by a set of narratives that presume “new” technologies impact (positively or negatively) directly upon society, replacing what has come before, and producing a predictable set of effects regardless of the unique specificities of time and place.” However, focusing on the predictable sets of effects often leads to a distorted view or understanding of the effects of technology. In 1964, McLuhan left the entire world amazed with the statement “medium is the message.” With this statement, McLuhan sought to explain that focusing on the obvious often, in this regard, the message, often causes people to miss the bigger picture. With regards to mobile phone technology, the above did indeed happen. The excitement with the introduction of a technology that transforms the world into a global village caused people to miss out on the unanticipated effects one of them being phone addiction among teenagers. It is indeed true that mobile phone technology revolutionized the world. However, the unanticipated effects of teenagers having to deal with cyberbullies as well as pressures of fitting in continue to plague the world. Parents and teachers have been up in arms trying to find solutions to the matter at hand. However, more still needs to be done. While it is possible to stay fixated on the utopi...