Noriko Suzuki
Professor Janis Filbeck
ENGL 15 Section 901
18 April 2022
Melody of Buzzing Noise
For the longest time ever, I have been a smartphone addict, something I denied whenever my siblings or parents commented about it. I didn’t want to believe I had a smartphone addiction but trust me, I knew where my phone was all the time, and notification buzzes had become my favorite sound. I depended on my phone for more than two years for so many things. It wasn’t all negative since I could manage my whole schedule via phone; however, now that I am looking back, I believe that I spent too much time on my phone, which should never have been the case. I didn’t sit and realize that I had a smartphone addiction something had to happen for me to realize this. My phone was the center of my nervous system; I was attracted to the glowing light and the buzzes from my phone more than anything else.
Once I was presenting in class, and I forgot to put my phone on silent; during the presentation, it kept on buzzing on the table, and everyone was looking at me strangely, and a deafening silence plagued the room. I didn’t deliver my best presentation because the buzz on my phone continued until the teacher handed me my phone and told me to turn it off. I did, and I finished my presentation with a thousand butterflies in my stomach. I should have anticipated this as I went in for my presentation; nonetheless, I didn’t. This wasn’t even the moment I realized that I had a serious problem, the next day, after my very embarrassing performance, my teacher called me aside, and I didn’t know if that man had been watching my behavior since I joined the class or not. Still, he recounted so many instances where my phone had served as a harmful distraction for me. He reminded me of an instance when I tripped while in class because I was too busy trying to balance four books in my hand and scrolling through my phone. To this day, I believe he was brutally honest with me, and if my parents had not pointed out that I had a phone problem, I would have told this man he was wrongly judging me, but he wasn’t. The conversation went on and on for more than 40 minutes. Listening to my teacher lecture me on my smartphone addiction was a definitive moment in my life. It made me realize that I have been prioritizing the buzzes from my phone too much.
Since the introduction of the smartphone, numerous academic research has been conducted to establish its impact on an active lifestyle, relationships, friendships, and how it promotes connection and disconnection with others and mindfulness. The smartphone has changed the way we interact with one another. It has made it easier to connect with people, but it has also made us more isolated. The smartphone has been a major disruption for social interactions. It has changed our relationships, how we communicate, and even how we think.
The use of smartphones has extensively affected how individuals communicate and connect. Today, we live in a more connected world than ever and have become so dependent on smartphones that this dependency affects the relationships and friendships they make (Wright). Some people are so addicted to their phones that they can’t go a day without checking them. They constantly check for updates, whether social media or emails, even with friends and family. This constant need for connection affects how they interact with others in their lives and how they view and interact with the outside world. The smartphone has changed the way people communicate with different people; some choose to text instead of talking on the phone or send emails instead of sending letters through the mail. This change in communication shows how much technology has impacted our lives and what kind of effect this will have. It is not just the people on their phones that are affected by this new technology. Our relationships with each other have been disrupted too. For example, it is now easier to avoid conversations with people or avoid eye contact in public spaces because of our smartphones. We have less eye contact with other people when we use our phones. We also have less physical contact with people because we fear that touching someone else’s phone might break it. We fail to be aware of our surroundings when we use our phones. We don’t see what is happening around us, and we don’t hear what is going on in the environment either. The smartphone has brought about a new era of disconnection in the world. The human-centric design of this device has made it easier for people to stay connected, but at the same time, it has made them less present in their surroundings and more detached from their physical environment (Wright, 18). Depending on how and when it is used, a smartphone can be used to connect or disconnect people.
The smartphone has become an extension of our senses and our minds. It is an indispensable tool for us to process information and connect with the world, but it is also a device that we carry everywhere and use for hours every day. Studies have found that smartphones are a significant cause of unhappiness. According to San Diego State University (16), people who spend more time on their smartphones are less happy and less satisfied with their lives. Also, people who use their phones more tend to be more depressed and anxious. They also have lower self-esteem and higher feelings of loneliness. The smartphone has become an indispensable part of our lives. It’s not just a device for social media. It’s also a productivity device with email, text messages, and work-related tasks. The smartphone has become an extension of ourselves, and we can’t imagine life without it. The more time we spend on our smartphones, the unhappy we are. Mobile phones have been linked to higher rates of stress and anxiety, worsened mental health and sleep quality, and lower levels of happiness and satisfaction with life in general (Stevic, 23). It is not using your phone that makes people unhappy, but rather how often they use it.
Smartphones are just one of the many distractions in our lives. And it is not the only one that affects our mindfulness. Technology and social media have also taken their toll on us. We are constantly bombarded with notifications, messages, and updates that keep us from living in the moment, reducing our mindfulness. Some people have found ways to combat this issue by using their smartphones in moderation or turning off notifications for certain apps (Regan, 12). But there is another option for those who can’t do either of these things – a mindfulness app. Mindfulness apps help users to focus on their breathing and clear their minds of any thoughts that might be distracting them from what they are doing in the present.
The smartphone has become an extension of our lives; at this point, there is no life without technology. Research has associated the increased use of smartphones with increased physical disconnection, increased levels of unhappiness, anxiety, and decreased mindfulness. The smartphone has significantly affected our daily lives.
Works Cited
Regan, Timothy, et al. “Does mindfulness reduce the effects of risk factors for problematic smartphone use? Comparing the frequency of use versus self-reported addiction.” Addictive Behaviors 108 (2020): 106435. Accessed 26 April 2022.
San Diego State University. “Screen-addicted teens are unhappy: A new study finds that more screen time coincides with less happiness in youths.” ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 22 January 2018. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/01/180122091249.html. Accessed 26 April 2022.
Stevic, Anja, et al. “You are not alone: Smartphone use, friendship satisfaction, and anxiety during the COVID-19 crisis.” Mobile Media & Communication (2021): 20501579211051820. Accessed 26 April 2022.
Wright, Louisa. “Disconnected: How phones affect our relationships.” 2021. https://www.dw.com/en/disconnected-how-phones-affect-our-relationships/a-57433757:~:text=Brown’s%20research%2C%20published%20in%20the,close%20they%20were%20as%20friends. Accessed 26 April 2022.
