Christianity and Phone Addiction

Did you know, the average teen spends upwards of eight hours a day on their phones?

            It’s true. Especially among adolescents, phone addiction has become extremely prevalent in our culture. And it’s causing a lot of the problems we see in teens today.

            But wait, you say. How can it be an addiction? It’s not like marijuana or alcohol or something, right?

            Wrong, actually. While phone abuse is not an addiction like substance abuse, it is still an addiction. However, it is classified as a behavioral addiction. Behavioral addictions can include pathological gambling and obsessive shopping or eating. Basically, it’s an intensive and harmful use of things besides drugs, but just like substance abuse, it can create negative behaviors and releases dopamine in the addict’s brain.

Phone Addiction: In Depth

            Phone addiction affects nearly half of the population, and keep in mind, these statistics only exist because people admitted their addiction. Monitoring programs installed on phones in the case of one experiment showed even that people admitting their addiction underestimated it. Research shows that seven out of ten Americans use social media, which is infamous for its tendency to cause addiction and other harmful behaviors.

And that’s just here in the States. 4.48 billion people use social media worldwide. Phone and social media use is especially high in adolescents, who also are at the most at risk for developing an addiction. 90% percent of the country’s teens use social media, which is a huge problem. During the adolescent years, one has less self-control, and seeks social acceptance. Teens use social media to seek out affirming relationships, but in the process, lose self-control, innocence, and often an understanding of Biblical truth, besides giving over to addiction.

            Beyond addictions, excessive phone and social media use can also result in a myriad of other harms. They can develop bizarre phobias in people when they are separated from their phones, or when they are without an internet connection.

Another prominent harm is decreased self-esteem and body image. After all, when you are just a few clicks away from flashy images of peers wearing a ton of makeup, doing fun and stupid stuff with their friends, wowing everyone with some cool skill, and enjoying the praise of hundreds of subscribers, it’s easy to feel like a nobody. You start comparing yourself, and almost inevitably, you’re going to find that you just don’t measure up… at least, in the eyes of you and the world. It’s difficult to feel comfortable in your own skin when you are constantly bombarded with opinions on how you should look and act. This can lead to depression and heighten your need for social approval… when really, we ought to be focused more on who we are in God’s eyes instead of the world’s. Who cares what some random influencer, or the fifty followers you don’t even know personally think about you? Are you trying to please them? Or are you going to focus all of your efforts for God?

Additionally, easy access to internet and social media increases the risk of cyberbullying and suicide. Thanks to social media monitoring apps such as Bark, we can now compare suicide rates in teens to social media use… and there is a connection. As social media use has risen over the years, so have suicide rates. Research shows that many factors, such as online TikTok challenges or bullies, or simply just wanting to be popular or have a lot of followers, can increase levels of anxiety and suicidal thoughts.

Besides low self-esteem, high phone use can also result in several other problems, including mental health issues, impulsivity, and sleep problems. Blue light from screens interrupts melatonin production, causes eye strain and dry eye, and can lead to damage and vision problems. We all know the feeling of staying up too late watching a movie or reading an ebook, and then laying awake for hours. It’s not healthy. As well, the constant need to check our feed, our texts, or keep an eye on our ‘likes’ induces an unhealthy vigilance and anxiety. Furthermore, phone use can heighten impulsivity, and easily lead users down dangerous paths to such evils as giving into harmful peer pressure, or participating in online porn, games that glorify violence, or excessive spending.

Phone use also hurts relationships. More and more families aren’t talking with each other around the dinner table anymore — instead, all of them are pecking away on their phones. Social media and texting alone will not create meaningful relationships. The simple fact that words cannot express humans perfectly, and that body language or facial expressions are often needed must be considered. This doesn’t mean that media programs should upgrade their emojis or avatars. It means that you should put down your phone and actually get to know someone. Underdeveloped listening and speaking skills will mean many difficulties and complications for you in the real world.

Plus, the fact that so many Americans view social media and news outlets daily, allows for the media and the press to filter and cancel, effectively presenting only what the people in power want citizens to think and believe. Free speech, thanks to media, is becoming an endangered species, and more and more Americans don’t know any other facts concerning events, existing beliefs, or worldviews beyond what is on their screens.

What Can We Do About It?

            So… there’s a problem. But what’s the point if there’s no way to fix it? Thankfully, there is. An easy first step is simply to distance yourself from your phone. Put it someplace out of reach and see how long you can last. This is the most obvious solution to breaking any addiction… but there are others. You can use the addiction for your benefit. Use time on your device as a reward after accomplishing some difficult task, or change around your habits on that device. Spend less time, but spend it wisely. Instead of scrolling pointlessly through TikToks, makeup tutorials, box openings, and memes, learn something.

After all, most of human knowledge is available on the internet. Used correctly, it’s a pretty cool place. You could learn a lot in those eight hours a day you spend on your phone. Eight hours a day totals up to 2,920 hours a year. You could be getting a lot done in those hours. It takes the average person 600 to 700 hours to learn a new language, about 200 to train for a marathon, and 90 to crank out the first draft of a novel. Instead of spending those 2,920 hours a year wasting your life, spend it on something worthwhile. Something that will have a lasting effect on you. The high of video game victory is only temporary. The rewards of that are trapped within your phone, and will never change you, as a person, in real life. But learning a new language, studying a field you are interested in, or getting better at a skill will all have lasting and beneficial results.

Another way to ease the effects of phone addiction is to develop a filter. Learn good internet safety. Exercise self-control and be honest with yourself about your activities on your phone. Are they healthy? Are they purposeful? If not, remove them. Do the same thing with the messages you are receiving. I don’t mean text messages. I mean the messages in the media. Ask yourself: “What are these people trying to convince me of?” And: “Is it possible that they have a bias, or that I am only being exposed to one side of this issue?”

Finally, evaluate whether or not what you are hearing is Biblical Truth. Simple, objective Truth. Objective Truth is found in the Bible and through a Christian worldview, not in someone’s opinion. And Truth is not what the media says, quite often. Learn to discern between opinion, lies, hidden facts, and Truth. Now, this isn’t as difficult as it may seem. While most of the online world is dominated by people who deny or hide Truth, with a little extra searching, you can find positive influences. Besides, you can be a positive influence yourself. If you have a platform, use it for God. With great power comes… yeah, I don’t need to finish.

And don’t just seek out Truth online. Spend more time in the real world, and surround yourself with moral, Truth-believing people. I can promise you that one actual human will be way more fulfilling than a hundred online ‘friends.’

A final way to eliminate a huge chunk of phone addiction, not just in our personal lives but in our culture, is to treat it like any other substance that can be abused. Put an age limit on it. Treat it like alcohol and ban kids from social media platforms until they are twenty-one. This won’t be as straightforward as banning other substances, like alcohol, because it’s easy to fake your age when creating a profile. Most people don’t know that there are actually age restrictions on social media websites, such as thirteen or sixteen. But they’re too easy to get around and don’t require enough parental involvement. However, there are plenty of apps out there, such as Bark or WebWatcher, or the parent restrictions that every Google account comes equipped with that can be very useful if you suspect your child is abusing social media. Even the harmful social media sites themselves include sensitive content controls. Ad blockers and the privacy settings that are on every app will also be a huge help toward protecting kids. But simply monitoring is not enough. Impenetrable restrictions should be put in place and a foolproof age limit established. This would greatly reduce the harms teens are currently experiencing due to social media.

During the years of not being allowed on social media, kids should be informed about its risks, and the pros and cons of using it, so that when they are old enough, they can use it responsibly, if at all. There are very few benefits to using social media, and they only come when media is used responsibly, for example, to connect to like-minded people who won’t make you feel bad about yourself or convince you that good is evil and evil is good. The teen years are a period of great development, and the years when kids are most at risk. The younger kids are when they are introduced to social media, the higher risk they have of developing phobias, mental health disorders, and other physical problems. As well, they are more likely to commit suicide, fall into depression, or feel negatively about themselves, as well as being exposed to the dangers of the online world, including porn and cyberbullying.

What Will You Do?

            Phone addiction is a thing. It exists, and it’s a severe problem. It’s harmful to your body and your habits, and it needs to be halted. But thankfully, there are several easy ways to terminate that addiction which will only require willpower… but will result in exponential benefits towards a healthier, happier, and freer life. And if educated people band together to take further steps in eliminating social media in the lives of teens across the world, the results will be even greater.

            So, don’t be like everyone else.  You were not created for that.  Get off your phones.  Get off social media.  Stop listening to the lies.  Stop seeking an affirmation and acceptance from a world that will only leave you hollow and deceived. 

Matthew 17:13-14 declares, “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.

            Abandon the busy highway and take the road less traveled.  It’s the only one that will lead to life eternal.

(Yes, I’m a blogger and I’m saying this. Yes, I plan to write on screens for a living. But yes, I’m careful about my screen time and internet activity.)

Adios for now!