Electronic device usage has surged in the past decade among high school students all across the U.S. Out of 306 MHS students, 64.1% believe that their main device of use causes them to procrastinate on school assignments, according to a survey conducted by The Union. In this same pool of students, 56.7% believe they are addicted to their main device, and 34.6% attribute social media to a majority of their screen time.
Excessive screen time is linked to mental health issues, and can possibly increase stress and anxiety, cause mood swings, decrease sociability, and negatively affect sleep, according to Nexus Health Systems, a network of hospitals and treatment centers.
Senior Jeremiah Angeles acknowledges that many of his peers are addicted to their devices which has negatively impacted their social lives, he said.
“I have this one friend, when he’s talking to (no one) he always has his phone out,” Angeles said. “You know, gatherings, no one’s ever talking to him. It’s (his phone) always out.”
People lose time on their devices that can be better spent on other activities, Angeles said. Screen time and content on the internet can have a negative impact on a person mentally and physically, with symptoms of headaches and eye strain possibly occurring, he added.
“Sometimes there’s things on the internet you wouldn’t want to see,” Angeles said. “There are some illegal things on there, for sure.”
Junior Zack Xiong said that his weekend screen time is usually more than 4-5 hours per day. Scrolling on social media contributes to roughly 80%-90% of Xiong’s screen time, he said. Xiong believes that he is addicted to his device and is currently taking steps to address it, he said.
“This week I’ve just uninstalled Instagram because I have a lot of missing work,” Xiong said. “Instagram was filling my life up with a lot of unnecessary screen time, and with that, it didn’t really give me much time to do my homework.”
Many of Xiong’s peers are addicted to their devices, with their screen times similar to his, Xiong said. Screen time can physically harm how often and how much a person eats and exercises, he added.
“I’d say it’s a bit harmful,” Xiong said. “But then again, with using your devices, there are pros and cons, and one of the cons is that it will be harmful to your health, but the pro is that you have a lot of useful information out there you can still use.”
Junior Tyler Le, whose main device is his computer, said he averages 10-15 hours of screen time on weekends. There are positive ways to use one’s device, he said.
“I use (my device) for my hobbies (programming),” Le said. “There’s also other stuff out there, like my brother who did an opportunity, like business stuff online. (…) I say how disciplined you are is how you use it. Because if you weren’t very disciplined, you’d just be wasting your time.”