Imagine your current life without the cell phone. This slight alteration may have an enormous impact, or none at all. No matter how much you use your mobile phone, it has an abundance of functions. Seeing how an owner can have a vast majority of social media applications on their devices along with call and text, these smartphones have been a major outlet to communication. When actually observing their use in teens, they are no longer using these cool contraptions for their primary purpose?distinctive communication. Teenagers are overusing their phones to the point where it is excessively taking over not only precious time, but also, their lives. These forms of communication are like access ramps to social media sites that are causing a cyber traffic jam, resulting in a negative influence on health, and a factor in teen death.

There is no doubt that youngsters enjoy having access to the internet through their phones. This gives them the opportunity to play games, message friends, or look at the newest posts on sites like Instagram, Snapchat, or Twitter. According to an article by Amanda Lenhart dated April 2015 for the Pew Internet Research Center, 91% of teens go online through their smartphones, at least from time to time, on a daily basis. While these teenagers are on the internet, a lot can happen. They could be surfing a media site, viewing a variety of posts from friends frolicking at the beach, to the lastest news of the president giving an important speech. Along with these posts though, harassment has taken its toll on social media. We all know how simple it is to say something offensive while hiding behind a screen. Using their connection from their phones to the internet, bullies are flourishing off of social networks. They can take their phone and say whatever nasty comment they want, usually not getting caught for it; 90% of teens say that they ignore the cyber bullying they see on social media, as stated by the article “11 Facts About Cyber Bullying” from the website Do Something, one of the largest sites for social change and teenagers around the world. While scrolling through the daily posts, the users may view actions that they know are wrong, but they brush it off; there’s nothing they can do about it, right? “Subtweeting” has become known as a way for Twitter users to post about others without saying names, similar to gossiping, but the victim could potentially see the post and know it’s about them. This makes bullying even more accessible, because the post isn’t straight up confronting someone, leaving room for question. Some cruel people don’t even mask their vicious comments, posting directly on a photo for every other user to see. Social media has sprouted a new, easier form of bullying, but this isn’t the only negative outcome of the use of media networking through phones.

Privacy is a big issue that not only media sites, but the internet in general, showcases. There is almost always an option of having a private account on a social network. Many companies give the user the freedom of choosing whether they would like to display their personal information to anyone, or keep it to their followers with their approval. On the sites where private accounts are available but not forced, that puts the user in danger. 64% of teenagers with Twitter say that their accounts are public, open to anyone’s viewing, provided by an article titled “Teens, Social Media, and Privacy” written the Pew Internet Research Center in 2013. The personal information teenagers put on these sites can sometimes be extreme; sometimes, their whole life is on there. One might want a public account to gain followers, but when they give the world access to their lives, they could be sharing their birthdays, locations, and phone numbers to absolutely anyone. Not only do smartphones give dangerous access to bullying and crucial information through social media, they also greatly impact the health of a young adult.

As we all know, teenagers need sleep. They have school during the day, possible extracurriculars afterwards, then homework or studying that has to be done for the next morning. Phones usually find a way to peek out at night, and they have a venom that gets into brain, classified as blue light. Blue light is the light that radiates off of the screens of mobile phones, computers, and other devices, tricking the brain to believe that it is daytime and to be awake, when in reality, it is mostly definitely time to get some rest. As described by the Washington Post with an article dated from 2014 by Meeri Kim, this light emitted from phones can cause teens to stay up and feel more awake, taking away precious moments. Scrolling through social networks while laying in bed, the young adults are trading their time that should be used for homework or other beneficial activities for screen time. The lack of sleep produced from these phones can cause poor performance in school, where teens need as much ability to focus as they can.

While these teenagers are spending excessive time on their phones, they could be getting addicted, if they aren’t already. This is a problem that is being overlooked; it could be because practically everyone is a victim, or no one cares that much because it isn’t like smoking, a well known and talked about issue. The time teenagers spend on their phones take away from school work, social interactions, and value productivity in general. A study by Baylor University in June 2015 also connected this excessive addiction to depression. Published in the journal “Personality and Individual Differences,” the study explains that those who over-check their cell phones are more subject to emotional instability, such as moodiness and materialism. This is logical, because when on their phones, the teenagers are most likely on an application, either games or media, that highly promotes brand name products. Altogether, the research is implying that the addictive checking in on phones is an attempt to distract one from unhappy emotions, or to push them aside as if they were never there. This age group is going on their smartphones too much. Some people are so addicted that they can’t find a reason to resist the device while driving, having a treacherous impact on the teenager and those surrounding them.

Texting and driving is an infamous issue that is most prominent in teens. Each day, there are 11 teen deaths caused by texting while driving, as listed on the website Edgar Snyder and Associates, a law firm that represent injured people. This act is unnecessary and can be avoided, but as I stated before, teens are addicted to their devices. They would rather put their own and other’s lives in danger rather than stay off their phone, whether it be through texting, or a social media account. A quick glance online is more common than one might think; one in five drivers admit to going on the internet while driving, admits the Texting and Driving Safety Website, a family owned company that has been dedicated to abolish texting and driving since 2010. Texting and driving is common and undoubtedly an issue, but halting the action has yet to happen. Although there are many negative influential factors involving teenagers and their cell phones,  using a device and driving is the most impactful and valid reason as to why it is essential for these young adults to ditch the excessive use of their smartphones. This age group needs to focus more on what truly matters, whether it be driving, personal interaction, or getting school work done.

The smartphone brings many forms of communication, and a social life is definitely healthy to maintain. On the contrary, some aspects of cellular devices are not adding positive features to teenager’s lives; they’re actually damaging them. The social media that is accessed through phones causes problems like bullying and privacy issues. The persistent checking of these sites or other applications can lead to addiction, and then lack of sleep. Altogether, mobile devices have had a tremendous impact in teenagers lives, and a frequent amount are not positive. The potential difficulty of imagining a lifestyle excluding a cellular device should be like a wakeup call, blaring a crucial message: if you can’t imagine a life without your phone, chances are, the object is luring you into its addictive trap, much like a fish taking the bait from a tempting worm-entwined hook.