Synthesis Essay on Effects of Smartphone Use on Mental Health

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The overuse of smartphones may cause teenagers to have symptoms of depression anxiety, and emotional problems. Both Twenge and Campbell (2018) and Jensen et al. (2019) argue that the more screen time youngsters have, the more likely they have depression symptoms. According to Twenge and Campbell (2018), the risk of adolescents getting depression increases with screen use while Jensen et al. (2019) state that higher average depressive symptoms in teenagers are reported when the screen time for creating content is increased. Youngsters who have high screen use are more than two times more likely to have depression compared to low screen users and those who are moderate users may have depression symptoms and anxiety at greater risk (Twenge and Campbell, 2018). In addition, Twenge and Campbell (2018) concur with Jensen et al. (2019) in their research by claiming that screen time may be associated with emotional problems. Twenge and Campbell (2018) conclude that adolescents who are high or moderate screen users tend to have difficulty in emotion regulation while Jensen et al. (2019) point out that there may be a positive relationship between screen time on content creation and symptoms of emotional problems. Therefore, there are negative effects on the psychological well-being of teenagers.

In contrast to the disadvantages of smartphone use, some scholars contend that cell phone usage is not significantly associated with mental health (Jensen et al., 2019), it is likely to be beneficial to youngsters. As pointed out by Jensen et al. (2019), there is little evidence to support the correlation between teenagers smartphone use and their psychological health. Jensen et al.’s (2019) view is in accordance with Everall and Yuns (2019) view as they highlight the advantages of the use of mobile phones on mental well-being. Jensen et al. (2019) have found that adolescents who spend more time on text messages and those who have the most screen time on content creation are likely to enjoy better psychological well-being while Everall and Yun (2019) believe that young people could deal with their stresses with the help of mental health-related apps. Everall and Yun (2019) also suggest that youngsters who have a risk of establishing mental illnesses can be identified by the smartphone which they can get support when they need it. Furthermore, the patterns in smartphone usage can be monitored in order to anticipate when teenagers are at risk of suicide (Everall & Yun, 2019). Therefore, some benefits of mobile phone use on mental health are observed.

The literature comprises some research and views on the topic of smartphone use and psychological well-being. However, there are some limitations in Twenge and Campbells research. They ask children and teenagers questions about screen time examine the results and conclude that the more screen time they have, the more likely to be lower in mental health. Nonetheless, the duration of the study seems to be short and no long-term follow-up measures are taken. In addition, Everall and Yun (2019) suggest that smartphones can help with young peoples mental well-being, but no research or data is provided to illustrate how they can help.

In conclusion, Twenge and Campbell (2018) believe that adolescents with high or moderate screen use tend to be low in mental health, while Jensen et al. (2019) and Everall and Yun (2019) argue that cell phone use is weakly associated with psychological health, it is advantageous to well-being instead. With moderate use of smartphones in a reasonable way, the lives and mental health of people could be better.

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