Last Thursday, if you made it to school on the hectic PSAT day, you most likely took the intimidating screen time survey. The goal of this survey was to help promote a healthier way of using our on-hand technology and to inform us of the negatives that coincide with too many hours spent on our phones. 

While it is clear that limiting social media hours is not a priority for most of the students at NASH, it is important that we as high schoolers make a serious effort to restrict our screen time. It is impossible to escape technology completely in the digital era, as it is a necessity when communicating with family and friends.

However, it is equally difficult to ignore the consequences that come with the overuse of technology. A recent study from the Excli Journal of Experimental and Clinical Sciences examined the different effects that accompany the overuse of an electronic device. The study reports, “Mobile addiction not only has physical effects but also psychological and academics effect at the same time. Sleep deficit, anxiety, stress, and depression which are all associated with internet abuse, have been related to mobile phone usage too.” That might be why you wake up with a buzzing headache when you fall asleep with your phone next to your pillow.

So, why have we become so attached to our phones? 

After speaking with a few of my peers and collecting their average screen times, I have decided the colossal amount of hours that students spend looking at their phone screens is due simply to strain and exhaustion. When we finish homework or get home from our extra-curriculars, our first thought is to check our smartphones for notifications. It has become a reward to lie down after a long day and stare at a screen.

In turn, I believe that feeling of relief and relaxation has become associated with using technology. Personally, when I look down at a text message during class, I become oblivious to my surroundings. I can no longer hear what the teacher is saying and lose track of my place in my assignments. I feel as though my mind is reverting to the state of relaxing at home and passing time on social media. I’m very confident in this because, in any typical classroom, most students leave their phones sitting on their desks in front of them for quick access to a mental break. 

Perhaps I am rationalizing phone usage among students, but I thought it might be interesting to note the average screen times for teachers as well. I assumed I would find the same patterns, as teachers get stressed out just as often as students do. They spend more hours in a classroom than we do, so I was sure their time would meet or even exceed student times. I was very quickly proved wrong.

From the information I gathered from eight students and eight teachers, I found out that teachers spend almost two hours less than students on their screens per day.

I have come to conclude that while students see technology as a way to relieve stress, teachers feel that their phones cause it. Social Studies teacher Mr. Kodenkandeth confirmed my conclusion.

“My phone is definitely filled with stressful emails and things that I need to get done,” Kodenkandeth said. “I try to avoid looking at it unless I have to.”

Of course, there is no surefire way to compare any two individuals’ screen time. But it is important to examine our routines and the role our phones play in our lives. While technology is a substantial part of who we are as a society, it is important that we occasionally we step back and reevaluate how the minutes of our lives are spent.