With the advent of technology, mobile phones have become a valuable part of individuals' lives. However, researchers have concluded that increased cell phone usage can severely impact your health and interpersonal relationships.
One of the most talked-about downsides of cell phone usage is phubbing, which is defined as looking at the mobile phone rather than interacting with people. There are several other side-effects of excessive mobile usage.
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Harmful Effects of Mobile Overuse
Mentioned below are a few negative effects over usage of mobile phones can cause:
1.Impacts Head And Neck
When you angle your head to look at your phone, the weight on your neck increases. This results in constant neck pain and can cause a strange-looking hump on your back due to the wrong posture.
2. Affects Arms And Hands
Constantly holding your phone up for a long time can significantly affect the mobility of your hands. It can cause severe straining on your elbows. Constant swiping and texting can make your thumb stiff and cause pain. This happens because of the semi-bent posture that your thumb maintains for a long period.
3. Affects Sleep
Gadgets such as mobile phones keep us sitting in the same place for extended hours. This causes other health problems, such as obesity, stress and increased risk of cardiac diseases. Moreover, using your phone right before sleeping can affect your sleep. This is because exposure to strong artificial blue light can reduce the release of sleep-promoting hormones.
Increased usage of mobile phones can also cause chronic smartphone stress. This is a growing concern amongst individuals in recent times.
4. Impacts Mental Health
One of the many negative aspects of using a smartphone is that it keeps you isolated and reduces your social energy. Moreover, smartphone addiction has resulted in mood disorders and depression even among adults.
Several studies have shown that an average person spends around five hours on their mobile phone. This is alarming and raises concern about smartphone addiction. It can cause anxiety and irritability and reduce concentration. Moreover, smartphone anxiety can cause nomophobia, defined as the increased anxiety of not having a working mobile phone.
5. Erodes Relationships
Your relationship with your family tends to diminish if you stay on your mobile phone for a long period. Note that your family needs attention, and if you refrain from providing that, they will distance themselves from you.
Moreover, if you have kids, note that they will learn from your behaviour. The last thing you would want is your kid getting addicted to mobile phone. As a parent, you must try to be more responsible and reduce your screen time as much as possible.
All in all, do not sit for long hours scrolling through your mobile phone. If it is a must, consider switching on the blue light filter mode, as it will put less impact on your eyes and aid in better sleep. To reduce your screen time, you can try to develop alternate hobbies, such as reading, cooking or music. Restricting mobile phone usage will result in a fresher feeling, helping you feel more connected to your near and dear ones. Pocket insurance plans like device insurance are need-based insurance products that extend adequate coverage for different financial requirements of life. One can conveniently avail it from reputed insurers and meet hefty expenses.