Student Research Guide WQ23/ Physical Impacts of Excessive Phone and Screen Use on Teens

Physical Impacts of Excessive Phone and Screen Use on Teens

 This is a student created research guide for English 102 & Library 201 Learning community

Some examples of the kind of language you will use in this section:

• This guide will address issues around the damage that cell phone addiction can cause in teenagers
• The purpose of this guide is to explore the many different health risks associated with cell phone addiction
• This guide will discuss views on the different ways a teenager can become a detective and why they become addicted
• This guide presents information and studies on the affects the health problems can have on an individual and the different methods one can take to prevent or treat the health related issues

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    My research focuses on the upbringing of teenagers becoming addicted to their cell phones and the immense damage that can come from it. My focused thesis is how the excessive use of a cell phone is most common in teenagers and can lead to serious and long-term health problems. Throughout my research on this topic there are many questions this guide will be answering relating to my topic. Some of those research questions are, how have different types of online communication and social medias contribute to cell phone addiction in teens? How does the radiation and blue light from cell phones affect the brain, eyes and other parts of the body? How is dopamine related to how our body responds to certain notifications, ringers, text message sounds, etc., in terms of how addiction can start? What are the statistics of teenagers in the U.S that own a phone, and what percentage of them have reported being addicted to their cell phone? 

Since the early 2000’s, the use of cell phones has skyrocketed, specifically in teenagers. There have been massive amounts of studies done focusing on how cell phones have physically impacted teenagers that have an addiction to their device.

This paper brings more awareness to serious long term health issues that come from cell phone addiction. This research paper explores the several serious health risks that are associated with excessive use of a cell phone and how over the past years, technology has evolved so significantly that cell phones have become a vital part of society's everyday routines.

The research used in this guide and paper was conducted with a wide variety of reliable databases including the Pew Research Center, academic search complete, PubMed, university websites, and Google Scholar search. 10 sources used for this research were compiled into bibliographies and all were annotated.

The results of this paper concluded that the great amount of research and data done on this topic shows that several health issues can be caused and traced back to the excessive use of cell phones. The general finding and studies aimed towards this topic indicate that teenage cell phone addiction is rising which emerges health problems with the human body, brain, eyesight, sleep cycle, and more.

With the result of these findings, society should make a change in their use of technology, specifically cell phones. Although more research is always needed and there are always more questions to be answered, the amount of data there is currently brings enough attention to the issue that cell phone addiction is a serious issue in America with teenagers.

Background Information

The first cell phone was created and released to the world in 1973. The phone was around 3 pounds and only operated for a maximum of 30 minutes of cell phone talk time. The phone was 4,000 dollars and was not ideal to use in everyday life. It was difficult to carry around, and only got 30 minutes of battery from 1o hours of charging. 

The first touch screen had come out in 1995 and failed to become popular, that is until 2007 when Apple released the first touchscreen iPhone. 

Technology and specifically cell phones have drastically advanced. Cell phones are now in the hands of 93 percent of the teenagers in America. Smartphones today fit in the palm of our hand, and are easily accessible. It has been 50 years since the first phone came out and we can now make and receive calls and texts, take show and store photos, record and play music, search the internet, and much more. 

The upbringing of cell phones has direct ties to how cell phone addiction starts in teenagers. The arrival of the smartphone brought different sources, ways of communication, and social media which started as the cause of addictive behavior with cell phones (Frontiers in Psychiatry, 2016). 

The video below provides information and studies around the impact that cell phones have on the human brain. The presenter explains how the radiation and exposure from cell phones is associated with several health risks including disruption to sleep, risk of cancer in the brain, and the effect on brain glucose metabolism.