This article analyzes the positive and negative effects of smartphone use on office workers’ daily lives and relationships, and suggests ways to maintain a balanced life while preventing the side effects of excessive use, such as communication breakdown, addiction, health problems, and overspending.
At 7 a.m., Mr. L wakes up half-awake to read the Twitter posts he hasn’t gotten around to reading overnight. Often, he replies with superhuman strength. Before leaving the house, he checks the weather forecast for rain and packs an umbrella, and on the subway to work, he reads the day’s top stories on his news app. While at work, he texts his girlfriend on a chat application while trying to keep his boss in the dark, and watches the Korean baseball series on DMB on his way home. After returning home tired, Mr. L falls asleep while tweeting. This is a typical day for Mr. L, a smartphone user at work.
Since the smartphone craze started with the iPhone, the number of smartphone users has been increasing rapidly, and our lives have changed dramatically. As we consume information through our smartphones, we can’t take them off our hands all day long. However, this sea of information can have a number of negative effects if used incorrectly. These include communication breakdown, addiction, health problems, and overconsumption.
First, as you can see from the example of Mr. L above, the number of users who rely on smartphones for all their daily needs has increased dramatically, leading to a loss of communication in everyday life. Recently, there is even a new phrase, “smartphone widow,” to describe a situation where a husband is addicted to his smartphone and cannot communicate with his wife. It is said that smartphones are activating social networks such as Twitter and WhatsApp, but this is actually causing the problem of losing contact with people in real life. A close friend of mine recently switched to a smartphone, and since then, he’s spent more time looking at his phone, which means he spends less time talking to people when he’s with them, and more time in his room doing other things on his phone.
Second, more and more people are developing addictions to their smartphones that keep them glued to them throughout the day. Smartphones have their advantages, such as the ability to always have them with us, stay up to date with new information, and communicate in real time via social media. However, if you get it wrong, you can become addicted to your smartphone. The benefits of having everything in the palm of your hand can have the side effect of making you tied to your smartphone 24 hours a day. In fact, there is a growing number of students who are not paying attention during university lectures and are habitually distracted by their smartphones. Their activities are often unnecessary, such as playing games or searching for entertainment news stories.
The addictive nature of smartphones, which began in earnest with the introduction of Apple’s iPhone in 2007, has yet to be fully analyzed psychiatrically. “It seems clear that people are developing a love affair and addiction with their smartphones,” said Connecticut College of Medicine professor Nancy Cotter, while Yale University professor Judson Bourer noted that “touching a smartphone can have the same effect as pulling a slot machine, which can become addictive if done repeatedly.”
Prolonged smartphone use can also have devastating health effects. First, your neck can suffer. When most people use their smartphones, they tilt their heads down. If you do this for long enough, you can develop what’s known as turtle neck syndrome. This is when your head bends forward like a turtle, even when you’re standing still. Tight muscles compress the blood vessels that lead to the brain, which can cause difficulty concentrating, chronic fatigue, headaches, and, in severe cases, neck disorders.
Next, your wrists can also suffer. Most smartphones have touchscreen screens without a keypad. This means that you’re constantly tapping the screen with your fingertips, which can put a lot of strain on your wrists and fingers. In severe cases, this can lead to carpal tunnel syndrome, a condition in which the nerves from the arm to the hand are pressed against the ligaments in the wrist, causing numbness and tingling in the hand. There’s also the issue of poor vision from constantly looking at a smartphone screen up close. The bright light and small text on a smartphone screen can strain your eyes and cause vision problems.
Finally, buying a smartphone based on a fad can lead to unnecessary overspending. My father, who is in his 50s, recently changed his cell phone to a smartphone. He also switched to a smartphone-only plan that subsidizes his cell phone bill, so he pays a higher basic rate than before, but he doesn’t use many of the features of a smartphone, just calls and texts. You bought a smartphone without considering its purpose or cost, and you’re spending unnecessary money every month.
Most of your friends who use smartphones are also on smartphone-only plans that cost $45,000 more than their existing plans to subsidize their cell phone bills. Even though they offer free calls and data usage, they say that they end up using more than the basic amount of calls and data usage, so they end up paying about 20,000 won more than before. Unlike previous cell phones, smartphones offer a wide range of services, so if you think these services are worth the extra cost, it’s a good idea. However, if you don’t use many of the services that smartphones offer, but you buy a smartphone because it’s trendy and you waste about 20,000 won per month, you’re wasting money.
The world is changing with the rapid growth of technology. In the past, our lives have changed dramatically with the introduction of innovative technologies such as TVs, computers, and cell phones. However, there have always been side effects of these technologies, such as the ones mentioned above. Communication addiction was a problem when PC communication was first popularized, and gaming addiction among teenagers is still considered a major social problem. The side effects of smartphone use are another example of the negative effects of the rapid diffusion of technology.
Technology is here to make our lives easier, so if we use it to our advantage, it can help enrich our lives. However, we must be careful not to let it dominate our lives, as it can actually decrease our quality of life. Smartphones are the latest technology that is leading the information revolution in the information age, and if we use them properly, we can navigate the information ocean of the information age.
A few more tips to help you use your smartphone in a moderate and useful way: first, it’s important to limit the time you spend on it. You should set a limit on the amount of time you spend on your smartphone per day and try not to exceed it. It’s also a good idea to try to increase the amount of time you spend without your smartphone. On weekends and vacations, it’s a good idea to stay away from your smartphone and spend time with family and friends. It’s also important to stretch and exercise regularly to prevent health problems caused by smartphone use. Stretch frequently to reduce neck and wrist strain, and look into the distance often to relieve eye strain.
Finally, be aware of your smartphone use and always be mindful of yourself. Don’t forget that it’s a tool that can enrich your life, but be careful not to let it control you. We want to live a balanced life where we use our smartphones to stay informed and connected, but don’t neglect real-life conversations and relationships.
